Rigged from the Start
by TheBobcat18
Summary: To sum things up, I'm screwed. It's one thing to wind up in a story I know, but what happens when I get sent to one I've only heard whispers of? One rife with the undead, a Fell Dragon, and a scrappy band of Shepherds clinging to the last vestiges of hope. Time to find out. That is, if I live long enough to do so. A Fire Emblem Awakening SI
1. The Bus

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 1

The Bus… Or How Public Transportation Sent Me to Another World

I always considered my life to be rather uneventful. Nothing very exciting ever really happened. I was just your normal, everyday joe, so to speak. Except I did not have the luxury of working a traditional nine to five office job, nor did I like drinking coffee before work. Each day passed like the previous one. Wake up, go to work, bust my ass for eight hours, go home, turn on the tv, eat dinner, go to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. And during the weekends, instead of working, I would sit at home and do nothing exciting in particular. The biggest moments of excitement always came on Saturdays when I practiced the family religion. I'd dress up in scarlet and grey, turn on the Big Ten Network, and scream at football players the same age as me, thinking that they could hear me. Lovely existence really. Then once that fun was over, it was back to a boring life. The weekend would end, Monday would come, and the process would repeat.

Today was a Tuesday, so already I felt exhausted from work this week. I woke up at the ass crack of dawn for my job (as always), partially sleepwalked my way through brushing my teeth and combing my brown hair, cracked a can of Pepsi open, negated any good progress I made brushing my teeth, then got dressed in my work uniform. First, I threw on some khaki work pants with extra pockets. Rather durable material actually, if not necessarily comfortable. I then threw on a garish, lime green collared shirt and slapped the equally green hat on my head. I raised my brow as I looked in the mirror of my apartment bathroom.

"Hello, sir… ma'am…" I rehearsed, as a low yawn slipped from my lips. I stretched my arms over my head, "My name is Sam, I work for Yardboys Lawn Care," Another loud yawn escaped me, and I scratched the back of my head, "Would you like to…" I trailed off with a sigh and stared at my bored reflection. My green eyes blinked sleepily, "Yeah, I'd slam the door in my face took." I grabbed my phone and wallet off of the countertop, shoved my earbuds into my pocket then looked at the mirror again. I flashed a fake smile at my reflection, "Have a lovely day."

With a final, despondent sigh, I resigned myself to my fate and marched to the door. I quickly snagged the old, leather, Harley Davidson jacket I owned, slipped it over my shoulders, and stepped out of my apartment. I made my way down a short flight of stairs, then exited the little, red brick building I called home.

I shuddered as a bitter wind hit me. Fresh snow crunched beneath my shoes, as I stomped my feet, uttering a small curse as I carefully stepped down the frozen concrete stairs in front of me and onto the sidewalk.

"Cold." I shivered, "Fucking cold."

My breath misted in front of my face as my bare hands fidgeted with my earbuds. I shoved them into my already red ears and let some music assist my body in waking up. This morning, the wonderfully gruff tones of James Hetfield filled my brain. My head bobbed up and down as I strolled down the sidewalk, not even bothering to glance up at the street as I made my way across it. Why should I worry about cars at this hour? The sun was just starting to rise, and the rest of the town would not wake up for another hour or so. I'll start paying attention once I got closer to the bus station.

My eyes closed as the song in my earbuds switched. Fade to Black faded away and an instrumental took its place. Voice of the Soul, the only song by a certain Death Metal band I really enjoyed. A beautiful composition really. I do not understand much about musical theory, since I have never much of a musician. But even I could tell that this song had a certain beauty to it. The way the guitars sang over each other in perfectly crafted layers made me utter a somewhat content sigh.

As I reached another intersection, my foot caught a patch of ice.

"Fuck." I hissed as I slipped, nearly falling flat on my back. I threw my arms out to steady myself as I skidded towards the road. Once I slowed to a stop, I paused and took a breath. One foot kicked at the ice, "I'll remember you."

I looked up. Someone was waving their arms frantically at me. I arched an eyebrow. Then I remembered, I'm in the middle of the road now.

I turned to my right.

_Oh, that's my bus._

The lights went out.

* * *

You know, I am very good at falling asleep. No really, I'm not lying right now. True, I'm your typical young adult, in that I always stay up way too late and never manage to wake up feeling healthy or rested, but when I put my mind to it, I can lose consciousness in about two minutes flat. Maybe it comes from growing up with a military father or something? Maybe it was genetic? I don't know, but falling asleep has never been a problem. Even when I have loud, typically heavy music playing in my ears, I can close my eyes and be gone.

So everything seemed totally fine when the silence turned into the guitar solo from Cemetary Gates. And that is not the noise that woke me up. It was Phil Anselmo's banshee-like wail in that song that caused me to jerk awake. An action I instantly regretted as pain lanced through my entire body.

I squeezed my eyes shut, groaned, and pressed myself flat on my back once again. Both of my hands reached up and yanked the earbuds from my ears. Every muscle felt stiff. Like a fist was squeezing my entire body. I could hardly move my head, and for some reason, I smelled like diesel.

I tried opening my eyes again, and hissed as a splitting headache reared its ugly head. I reached up with one hand and massaged my eyes. Then I forced myself to open my eyes.

The first sign something was wrong: the sky was still dark. Not dark as in the sun was still rising, but dark like it was midnight. Up in the frozen tundra, if the sky was as clear as it is right now, the sun would barely peak over the horizon and large swaths of the inky blackness would be covered with shades of pink, purple, and orange. And there was never this many stars in the sky. It looked like there were thousands of them above me. Some brighter than others. All twinkling like brilliant gems high above my head. It was a breathtaking sight I had only ever seen once before in my life.

Second sign something was wrong: I did not see the Big Dipper. I considered myself somewhat fascinated by the mundane. Whenever there were actually stars visible back home, I'd always laugh to myself once I found the Big Dipper. It was the first constellation I ever learned to find. Then I'd struggle to figure out if the three stars I saw lined up in a row were Orion's Belt or not. The fact that I could not see either of those familiar constellations, that all of these stars were arranged in a manner I did not recognize at all, caused more than a smidgen of confusion to build up in me.

Third sign something was wrong: I was not cold. I actually felt a little warm. December in Wisconsin never felt like this. It felt like it was May, or June even. A cool, summer's night. Long grass brushed against my fingertips as I lay still on the ground. I curled my fingers around those soft blades and frowned.

"No snow." I muttered to myself. I gingerly sat upright. A labored breath escaped my lungs as more aches and pains filled my body. I grit my teeth through the dull pain and looked around, "No town." I furrowed my brow, "And nothing but grass."

I hummed to myself.

"I'm in Kansas."

Now, you'd think the logical part of my brain would kick at this point. But for some reason, it's been turned off for the moment. How on earth would I suddenly be transported from Appleton, Wisconsin to middle of nowhere Kansas in the blink of an eye? Or what felt like the blink of an eye? What exactly happened a few minutes ago again?

I sucked in a sharp breath.

_The bus!_

My eyes widened. I got hit by a bus. Not just any bus either, but my bus. The bus I needed to take to get to work on time. That bus.

Instead of panic seizing me, I simply slumped in my seat.

"My boss is going to kill me."

I laughed to myself. Of all the things I was going to think of this moment, that was what worried me. Not getting hit by a bus, not all of a sudden being teleported to a completely different place, not waking up to seeing an unfamiliar night sky; no, being late for work was what worried me.

"Wonderful," I chuckled to myself as I looked around in disbelief, "Just perfect."

This place really was in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't even see a single farm field nearby. For a single year in my childhood, I lived in Kansas. Near Kansas City to be exact. But I remembered taking road trips through the rest of the state. There were brief patches of nothing, but the rest of the state was covered with corn and… well… corn. Honestly, despite the unbelievability of my sudden teleportation, it seemed perfectly logical to assume this was Kansas.

I sighed and reached into my pocket. Hopefully I still had cell service. If I did, I could call for help. Maybe some local, county sheriff could come out here and give me a ride to the nearest… I don't know, Greyhound Station? There was no way I could afford a plane ticket back home. Not during the holiday season. As unappealing as cross country bus ride sounded, that was the only way I could afford to get home.

My phone winked to life, and I let my head fall back.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

No service. Not a single bar. I flicked the screen off. The urge to scream obscenities was strong, but I kept my cool. I needed a level head right now. Panicking, getting angry, none of that would do me any favors.

Let's think about this, problem solve now Sam. You just woke up after getting hit by a bus. By some sort of miracle, not only are you alive, you are unharmed, and in Kansas instead of Wisconsin. You're in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere, and you don't have the sun to help you navigate home. Nor any constellations for that matter (as if I could actually navigate that way, but hey, maybe some Discovery Channel knowledge lingered in the back of my brain).

I took a deep breath.

_What would Bear Grylls do? _I thought to myself with a slight laugh, _Other than drinking his own piss?_

I shakily rose to my feet. My legs wobbled, knees buckled, and I took a staggering step forward to balance myself. I probably looked like a newborn deer learning how to walk for the first time. Each step I took felt like pins and needles were being jabbed into the bottom of my feet. My toes curled as I grit my teeth and fought off the pain.

I swiveled my head around, trying to get a better view of my surroundings. Although, I couldn't see much. Starlight only revealed so much in the darkness, and there was no moon tonight.

Some crickets chirped in the shadows. I took a deep breath of the warm air.

_Remain calm._

I needed to pick a direction and start walking. So, I turned to my right. With any luck, I'd run into some sort of civilization. Or at the very least, a source of water. If this was Kansas, then I couldn't be that far from a farm.

I took one aching step. Then another. One foot in front of the other. Eventually, the pins and needles faded, the stiffness in my muscles receded, and I settled into a comfortable stroll through the tall grass. I paused after a few minutes and glanced around. Old childhood fears crept through the back of my mind. I've never liked the dark, let alone wandering around in it, but it's not like I had a choice right now. And I did not dare use the flashlight app on my phone. I needed to conserve as much battery as I could, in case I eventually managed to reach some sort of cell service. So I shoved those childish fears down, swallowed hard, and kept walking.

It felt like hours until the landscape changed. That change did not come in the form of a dirt road, crops, or even a county highway. The change came in the form of a little village that sat right smack in the middle of this massive swath of open country.

A relieved sigh rushed from my lips as I saw the silhouettes of houses in front of me. That relief faded when I noticed no lights in the village. Not a single lamp flickered around the buildings. Hell, there weren't even any fires.

A bad feeling churned in my gut. Something in the back of my mind told me to just keep walking, but my dry tongue and rumbling stomach overruled that advice. So, I trudged my way into the village.

The grass grew wild around the rickety buildings. Most of the buildings were very small homes. From the looks of things, they were all one-room house. Huts of some sort. As I delved further into the dark village, the grass became hard beneath my feet. I glanced down and noticed stones hidden in the thick weeds and blades of grass. Old, cracked, gray pavers that looked well worn.

_Must be an old town. _

I flicked my gaze around. That bad feeling in my gut was starting to grow into a vicious stomach ache. But I did not feel like knocking on any doors at the moment. Mostly because every single building around me looked very ominous. Especially the church that sat across a small river.

I frowned as I looked at the church bathed in faint starlight. It's tall steeple dominated the rest of the town. But the stained glass near the top of the steeple was broken. I could not make out what image once sat on the steeple, but I did not see a cross anywhere on the building. Which meant it was not your typical midwestern church.

"What kind of place is this?" I muttered to myself as I crossed the run down stone bridge and moved closer to the old church.

As soon as I set foot on the grass-covered stones across the bridge, the crickets stopped chirping. The night stood still around me. Despite the warm night, I shivered. This place was giving me the willies now. Not only did I wake up in Kansas, I woke up near a ghost town in Kansas. A ghost town that looked nothing like the ghost towns you see in movies or documentaries. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this place looked rather medieval. But that had to be a trick my mind was playing on me. Shadows can easily lie, especially when I'm this disoriented.

A low growl came from a small, broken shack near the church. I froze mid-step. My head slowly turned towards the growl. My already parched throat felt dry as sandpaper. Some sweat beaded on my head. I could feel my pulse racing.

A pair of eyes glowed in the darkness. They stared directly at me as they hovered low to the ground. Teeth flashed in the shadows of the church. I took a small step back as a black dog stalked towards me. It's thin, half-starved body came into full view. Despite its frail appearance, I could not help but feel a bit afraid. Its ears were pinned back, head lowered, ready to attack.

I sucked in a sharp breath. I did not grow up around dogs, so I wasn't entirely used to them. That being said, I always liked dogs, even if my father did not want pets in the house. They were always friendly to me. Always fun to play with and pet. I never had one snarl at me like this. This dog looked like it wanted to rip my throat out.

"H-hello-" I flicked my eyes towards its bellow, "B-boy?" I stammered. I gulped as the dog snarled again, "Or girl. maybe I got it wrong?" I pressed my lips together as it took a threatening step forward, "How long have you been here?"

The dog's lips curled back even more. I paled as I saw red stains on its yellowed teeth.

"I'm um…" I swallowed hard, "I'm not going to hurt you. Nope, not going to."

With a trembling hand, I reached towards the dog. If there was one thing I knew about dogs, it is that if one is threatening you, do not make a sudden movement. Do not give it an excuse to charge at you. Show that you are the alpha. That's what Caesar Milon always said at least. I kept my eyes focused on the dog. As much as I wanted to step back from the threatening dog, I stood my ground.

I felt terrified, but I did not show it, and that somehow seemed to work. The dog's ears perked slightly. Its lips closed, hiding those wicked jaws. The dog kept its head lowered, but now it regarded me with slight curiosity rather than hostility.

I kept my hand open and outstretched.

"Good dog." I breathed as it cautiously approached. I felt its wet nose brush over my fingertips, "There we go."

_I have no idea how this worked out so well, but I will not complain._

I gingerly reached up and brushed the dog's head. It recoiled back for a moment before nuzzling fully into my hand. A smile crossed my face as my fingers raced through its dark hair.

"You aren't so scary now." I said. I looked around again. My gaze focused on the strange, ruined church. For some reason, this place looked oddly familiar. I looked back down at the dog, "You don't happen to know where I am, do you?"

The dog wagged its tail.

"Well, I'm glad you like me so much." I breathed. A slight chill drifted through the air. I shuddered again and shoved my hands into my coat pockets. I eyed the church's large doors, "Well, when in need…"

I strolled towards the church doors. The dog followed me for a few paces before freezing. I stepped up onto the short, stone stairs that led up to the church's doors. When I reached the third step, I noticed the dog growling again. I frowned and looked back at it.

"Look, I'm not a bad guy, alright." I blinked, "Oh crap," I gave the dog a worried look, "Are you a guard dog or something?"

A low moan hit my ears. I froze on the steps. The chill in the air grew. Any warmth the night held retreated completely. I could see my breath frosting in front of my face. My head trembled as I turned my gaze up to the church doors. One door slowly creaked open, and my stomach flipped as the door stopped opening with an abrupt groan.

_Every single horror movie instinct is telling me to back away._

I took a step back. The dog snarled.

"Would you let me back away!" I snapped at it.

Anxiety filled me. My breaths entered and exited my lungs in short, sharp puffs. I do not do well in situations like this. The creepy church combined with the dark night and the snarling dog caused every single fear-filled instinct in me to burst to life.

Something shambled in the shadows beyond the church's open door. I froze.

"H-hello?" I gulped, "Is uh-" I gestured at the dog behind me, "Is this your dog?"

The dog's snarled again. Then I felt it brush up against my right leg. It was hiding behind me. I gave it a worried glance as it's snarls became small whines.

A person shambled closer to the open door inside of the church. I gulped as I tried to make out the guy's features in the darkness. He walked with an awkward limp. One shoulder hung lower than the other, and from what I could see, its head was tilted to the left.

"Do you, um," I pressed my lips together as the guy shambled into the doorway, "Do you happen to know the way to the nearest police station?" He remained in the shadows of the doors, "Or er- maybe a fire station?" Another low moan floated on a cold breeze, making me shiver. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and the dog whimpered louder, "Perhaps the uh… closest gas station? Hopefully its a Shell Station?"

The guy shuffled out into the starlight, and my entire body went numb.

Red eyes glowed inside of a black mask. A grotesque, horrifying expression was ingrained into the mask over the guy's face. Its clothes looked like armor of some sort. Rusting and rotted plates covered it head to toe. He carried a rusty sword in his left hand. The point dragged along the ground as he trudged towards me, scrapping over wood and stone with a grating noise.

I gulped. The dog bristled beside me as it snarled at the man stumbling towards me.

"L-look, b-buddy." I took a step back. My eyes were glued to the sword dragging along the stony ground. The dog followed my lead, "I don't want any-" I cried out as I tripped and fell backward down the last two steps.

My head swam as it smacked against the ground with a hard crack. I groaned. My groan elicited a response from the armored, masked man.

It… it laughed, I think? A terrifying creaking sound came from whatever face rested behind that mask. I scrambled up to my feet as it stopped shambling and started rushing towards me.

"Stay back!" I cried.

It closed the distance between us ridiculously fast. My eyes widened as it reared back with its rusty sword. Survival instincts took over. I spun around and ran. Right as I twirled around, a sharp, stinging sensation crossed the back of my neck as the edge of the blade nicked my skin.

"Holy shit!" I screamed as I ran.

The guy, thing, whatever it was, screeched. Those screeches were answered by a dozen more. Adrenaline pumped through my body as more pairs of red, glowing eyes winked to life in the village's shadows. Two of them cut off my way out of the town while the others moved to surround me.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!"

Quick think! Get somewhere safe!

_Nowhere is safe!_

Get in a hut, you idiot!

I rushed for the nearest building and threw myself against what I thought was a rickety wooden door. Now, I'm definitely not the biggest person in the world, more like one of the smaller ones. I certainly do not have a lot of meat on my bones, but I still believed I had enough weight behind me to break down the door.

I bounced off of the door and fell onto my ass.

_Obviously not._

The dog remained by my side. It backed up towards the hut door I tried to break through. I heard the screeches drawing closer. Adrenaline forced my body back to its feet. Fear made me slam against the hut's door again.

"Bastard! Open!" I screamed.

I heaved all of my weight at the door, but it did not budge.

"Fuck!"

I spun around. They were all around me now. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Just me and a stray dog against twelve demonic-looking human beings. All of them clad in rotting armor and black masks. All of them wielding medieval weapons, ranging from swords, short and long, to axes.

I backed up until my back pressed against the door. My chest rose and fell in heavy, terrified breaths. The cold penetrated into my bones now. It did not feel like the type of cold I was used to. Instead, it felt like an oppressive darkness. A feeling of hopelessness that gripped my mind. In that moment, I wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

One of the monsters stepped closer than the others. So close in fact, that I could make out more features. Instead of tight, healthy skin on its bones, I saw rotting, grey flesh. A pit formed in my gut.

"I'm in hell." I breathed, "That bus sent me to hell."

This monster raised its ax, determined to cleave me in two. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the blade to dig into my flesh and kill me.

It never happened. I heard something whistle in front of me. The monster uttered a gurgling sound. I cracked an eye open. A black, feathered arrow protruded from one of its ruby eyes. The monster staggered backward and uttered a loud scream.

Before I could even blink, four figures burst from the darkness beyond the ring of monsters. One was a man in heavy blue and white armor, riding a horse. He leveled a lance at one monster. Just behind him sprinted two other people, a guy and a girl. The guy wore strange brown robes and had a large, pointed hat on his head. The glasses on the bridge of his thin nose glinted in the starlight. The girl beside him wore leather armor and had a large, steel shoulder plate on her left arm. In her right hand she wielded a sword. Red hair ran down from her head in twin ponytails, and furious expression rested over her face.

Just behind those two was the origin of the black arrow. A slight, frail-looking girl with midnight hair and ghost pale skin. She carried a bow and arrow. Before I could even register more about her, she nocked another arrow and loosed it. The black arrow zipped through the air and into the other eye of the first monster.

The monster screamed, fell to its knees, then sighed. My eyes widened as it faded into a pile of black ash.

"For the Exalt!" The armored horseman cried.

He crashed against the ring of monsters. His lance dug into one monster, killing it instantly. He then twirled his steed around and slashed the lance through another monster. His two companions racing after him attacked as well. The guy with a pointy hat opened a book, and ball of fire appeared in his free hand. He launched the fireball at the nearest monster, incinerating the thing.

The red-haired girl roared as she slammed into a monster wielding an ax. She hacked away at it, eventually taking its arms before severing its head from its body.

In that moment, I decided it would be a good idea to try and run again.

I shot away from the hut and sprinted towards the nearest opening out of this fucked up mess. The dog followed me. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of metal crashing against metal. The monsters kept screaming. A horse uttered a loud cry.

_I need to get out of here!_

I rushed around the corner of a hut. My head smacked into something hard, and I saw stars.

My head swam. A groan left my lips as I lay flat on my back. As my vision refocused, I saw a pair of evil red eyes glowering down at me. A monster I had not noticed stood over me, sword raised over its head.

The rusted metal hissed down towards my chest. I raised my hands and felt the blade bite into my palms.

The scream that escaped my lungs had to be the loudest scream I have ever uttered in my life. But it got the attention of my apparent rescuers.

A black arrow burrowed into the last monster's shoulder. A bolt of lightning slammed into its torso. A flash of red hair shot past my vision, and the redhead I saw earlier slashed the monster to ribbons. With a low groan, the monster collapsed into a pile of ash in my lap.

I scrambled to my feet. The ash slid off of my body. Every instinct I had told me to flee. Run! Get away! They're still out there, whatever they are. They're going to kill you. I backpedaled right into the redhead.

"Hey!" The girl shoved me forward, "Watch it! Gawds, can't you pay attention?"

I spun around and raised my arms.

"I'm not armed! Don't kill me!" I cried.

The red heard raised an eyebrow, "Why would I kill you?" Her eyes flicked to my hands raised over my head, "Great," She turned her head back to the other not monsters, "Laurent," My mind went blank, "get over here! I need a vulnerary!"

The young man with the large hat snapped his gaze over to the girl. Before he marched over, he shot a fireball into a fallen monster one more time. The monster screamed then became ash. Once the monster was gone, the guy calmly walked over to me and the redhead.

"Are you injured, Severa?" The guy, Laurent, asked.

Severa scowled and folded her arms, "Do I look hurt?"

Laurent furrowed his brow, "Well, I do not notice any notable lacerations, bruises, or contusions. Perhaps there is something beneath the armor I cannot see-"

Severa scowled, "Not me." She huffed then nodded in my direction, "This guy. His hands are all cut up."

Laurent blinked, "Oh, right. Pardon me for not noticing." He reached into a pouch at his hip and withdrew a bottle filled with a nebulous blue liquid, "Hold out your hands."

I kept them raised. Severa rolled her eyes.

"Hey," She waved a hand at me, "are you deaf or stupid? We're offering you help." She frowned, "Gawds, please tell me you aren't broken."

Words returned to my brain. My voice came out in a quiet squeak as I finally managed to reply.

"S-sorry." I slowly lowered my hands and held them out towards Laurent, "I'm just uh…" I flicked my gaze back to the hut the monsters surrounded me at. All of them were gone. The horseman trotted around the area. Probably making sure all of the monsters were killed. Meanwhile, the archer slowly approached me, Severa, and Laurent.

My concentration broke as I felt a stinging sensation wash over my hands. I hissed and glanced down to see Laurent pouring some of the blue liquid over the cuts.

"Give it a moment. The gashes should clot and eventually scab over in an hour or so." He shoved a cork back into the bottle then carefully placed it back in his pouch. His brown eyes studied me for a moment. Then he leaned over and whispered something to Severa.

She rolled her eyes, "You act like I haven't noticed." She hissed back before clearing her throat, "Alright, you." She nodded at me, "Who are you?"

My mouth opened and closed as I struggled to form words again. Those names, they hit me like a ton of bricks now. Severa, Laurent, those were the names of two characters in the game Fire Emblem Awakening. More specifically, the names of two characters who are a part of an apocalyptic future.

Something did not compute in my brain. And that lack of comprehension led to me looking like quite the idiot at the moment.

"Hm…" Laurent rubbed his chin, "Incapable of formulating proper speech." he eyed me closer. Leaning a bit too close to my face for comfort, "Dilated pupils, pale countenance, erratic breathing…" He nodded at Severa "This stranger is suffering from a panic attack. That or an illness that could kill him."

"Wh-what?" I stammered.

Severa huffed, "Great, just great. Alright, how do we fix it?"

Laurent frowned, "The illness, or the panic attack?"

"What do you think?" Severa snapped.

"Stop making him nervous for one." The archer said as she joined the other two. Her voice sounded much smaller than the others. Quite like a mouse. Her hands kneaded her bow as she lingered behind Laurent. Severa glared over at her. The archer shrank a little bit, "P-panic attacks can be worsened by confrontation. You need to make him feel comfortable."

Severa drew back, "Oh! Comfortable eh?" She glanced back at me then back to the archer, "How do I do that, Noire?"

"Perhaps you should stop talking and let Noire take the lead on this?" Laurent suggested.

"What did you say?" Severa scowled.

"What's your name?" Noire piped, taking the other two's attention away from each other and back towards me.

_Come on brain, function!_ I gulped and lowered my hands. They felt a little numb now. Then again, my entire felt numb at the moment. Both due to fear and complete disbelief.

I was standing in front of a trio of video game characters… what the actual fuck?

"Hey!" Severa snapped her fingers, "You gonna answer her or not?"

I blinked and shook myself out of my stunned stupor, "Uh… Samuel. Well, I go by Sam, for short. Like that better actually. And you guys are named Severa, Laurent, and Noire, right? I'm right, right?" _Stop rambling Sam,_ "Cause I swear that is what I heard you all call each other. Unless those are code words of some sort, in which case-"

"Alright, I liked him better when he was quiet." Severa said, mercifully cutting of my panicked rambling. She turned around, "Sir Frederick! We've got a survivor over here!"

My gaze snapped over to the slowly approaching horsemen. As he approached, Laurent cast a spell in his palm. A small ball of soft, white light flickered over his head, lighting up the area around us in a calming glow. And in that light, I got a good look at the man known as Frederick.

He looked… a lot older than in the game. And a lot rougher too. Noticeable gashes and dents covered his blue and white armor. His brown hair was unkempt on top of his head. An ugly scar ran like a pink ribbon down the right side of his face. His brown eyes gave me a steely stare as his horse came to a stop beside Severa.

"Name?" He asked, voice gruff and hoarse.

"He said his name was-"

"I asked him." Frederick cut off Laurent.

I gulped as I shrank beneath Frederick's stare. God, I thought this guy was intense in the game.

"Sam." I gulped.

Frederick furrowed his brow. His eyes quickly studied my clothes. No doubt they looked very strange to him and the others.

"Come on." He said sternly to the three others, "We need to head back."

Severa frowned, "What do we do with-"

His gaze silenced her. Severa took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes sir." She breathed. Without another word, she followed Frederick towards the edge of the abandoned village.

Laurent glanced at me, then wordlessly followed them. Noire lingered for a moment longer. She flicked her dark eyes back at her friends, then returned her gaze to me.

"Y-you can't stay here." She nodded her head, "Come on. We'll get you and your dog somewhere safe."

She quickly turned on her heel and rushed after the others. I remained frozen in place for a moment, my eyes lingering on all four of them as they marched away. Beside me, I felt my new canine friend brush its muzzle against my leg. I absentmindedly patted its head.

"Good dog." I mumbled.

"Hey! Sam!" Severa shouted up ahead, "Get moving already, or we'll leave you behind!"

I jumped. A part of me hesitated, wondering if I should even follow them. The black ash that covered my shoes reminded me that the other option led to almost certain death at the hands of terrifying monsters. In the end, the choice became simple.

I rushed to catch up with them. The dog loped alongside me. Eventually, I caught up to both Laurent and Noire. Severa and Frederick marched a few paces ahead of us. As I drew up alongside Noire and Laurent, Laurent offered me a leather pouch. I gave him a confused look.

"Are you not thirsty?" He asked.

_Oh, water. Thank God. _

I said a quiet thank you then took the waterskin. I gulped a quick sip then handed it back. As Laurent took the waterskin back, my mind raced.

Somehow, that bus sent me to another world. And that world happened to be the world of Fire Emblem Awakening. Except this looked nothing like the game. These events did not happen in the game. Not that I remembered at least. It had been a little while since I played the game in full. Real life has a way of interfering with free time like that.

As I reeled from this revelation, a sobering thought hit me. One that lingered in my mind, even as we reached a worn down, dirt road near a dead forest and set up camp.

How did this happen? And how do I get back?

**And chapter! WELCOME TO MY SI, EVERBODY! I'm so excited to bring you all this Awakening SI with a little twist. You all are in for quite a ride, and I hope you all enjoy what's in store. Let me know what you all think! And I hope you have a nice day!**

**PSS: there is a _Fanfiction__ Treehouse_** **podcast! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan (of Stolen Remedy), Narwhal Lord (of All the World's a Sale), and RedXEagl3 (of Aberration) are the hosts! We talk about fanfiction, writing advice, and general nonsense. You can find it on Spotify and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**

**PSSS: This chapter has been edited from it's original version.**


	2. Another Reason to be Afraid of the Dark

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 2

Another Reason to be Afraid of the Dark

Day two of my trip to hell via public transportation, and to sum it up in the most simple of fashions: my… feet… hurt. And that is saying a lot. Most of the jobs I have worked in my brief, twenty-two years have involved staying on my feet for hours on end. In fact, the previous one I held involved walking for miles through ice and snow, trying to get people to sign up for lawn care services once the town thawed in six months. So you would think my body would be used to walking long distances without any breaks of any sort. But my God, you would be wrong. So very wrong.

The distance we walked was enormous. I did not know the exact miles, but I do know that the terrain changed after several hours. The rolling, quiet plains of dead grass and cold dirt switched to a dense, dead forest. Knobbly tree limbs surrounded us, like something out of one of those old black and white horror movies. All that was missing were thunder and flashes of lightning.

Even though I felt exhausted, I could not help but feel strangely alert. Perhaps it was just my fears keeping me attentive. I mean, I did just survive an attack by demonic, zombified, medieval monsters. It would make perfect sense for my mind and body to still be reeling from such an experience. Especially since the most excitement I got in a week back home involved college football, not near-death experiences.

Oh, and my old life also did not involve characters from a video game! The entire march, between hissing at my aching feet and trying to calm my nerves, I stared back and forth between my four new companions. Laurent and Noire did not seem to mind my stunned stares. They just marched on in silence. And Frederick never seemed to notice. He was too busy riding in front of us, head on a swivel, right hand kneading the shaft of his lance.

The only person that seemed to care about my stupid stares was Severa, which made sense. She seemed to be… how do I put this exactly? Combative? We'll go with combative. At first, she just ignored me. An action by others that I was somewhat used to. But as we delved further into the forest, she grew more irritated by my slack-jawed expression. So much so that, as the dim sun set below the dead limbs around us, she wheeled around and gave me a furious look.

"Okay, what's the deal?" She growled as Frederick came to a slow stop a few paces ahead. Both Noire and Laurent also ground to a halt. Laurent appeared confused.

Noire shifted nervously, "I thought it best not to talk right now and-"

"Not you, Noire." Severa sighed. She folded her arms and glared daggers at me, "You."

"Hm?" I replied, oh so eloquently.

"Why do you keep staring like that?" She asked, a long frown on her lips.

Frederick glanced over his shoulder at us. As usual, he said nothing. But damn did that glare say a lot. It was enough for Severa to gulp and lower her tone of voice to a hushed whisper.

"Well?" Severa asked me again, "Are you going to answer or not?" She glanced over at Laurent and Noire, "Honestly, his inability to comprehend basic questions quickly is really pissing me off."

"To be fair, you all haven't asked me a lot of questions," I remarked.

A true observation. Last night's camp was a silent affair. Likely due to a command given to the other three by Frederick. At the time, I was grateful for the silence. It gave me time to figure out just what the hell to do in this strange situation. Most of that intense thinking led to heavy doses of panic as I realized that I had no idea what to do. How could I know what to do? I was in a video game world for pete's sake! A video game world that, when given a real-life skin, was both deadly and terrifying.

Severa blinked, "Oh, now he can hear me."

"Am I not allowed to look around?" I finally answered.

The red shade that washed over Severa's face told me that she did not like that answer.

"There is a difference," She began, teeth clenched tight behind her lips, "between looking around and staring at us like we're a bunch of freaks."

I felt Laurent tap my shoulder.

"I suggest backing down now." He nodded at me.

I arched an eyebrow, "Why? I never thought of you all as freaks." I rubbed the back of my neck, "Honestly, I'm just…" Scared shitless. Unsure of how exactly I got into this mess, and completely lost as to how I'm going to get out of it. Wondering how the hell I managed to survive the monster attack back in that ghost town. Not like I could articulate any of that. I never claimed to be a wordsmith, "Amazed, honestly. I never thought that I would," Choose your words carefully now, Sam. Sir Frederick the Intense keeps giving you suspicious looks. The last thing you want to do is get on his bad side by making unbelievable (to them) claims. Such as being from another world, for example. "I guess survive something like that."

Noire bobbed her head back and forth, "I sort of get that feeling." She muttered.

"You did look quite helpless." Laurent nodded.

Severa sighed, "So, you're in awe of your rescuers, then?"

_Yeah, let's go with that._ I gave her a simple nod.

Severa rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Just try not to get stuck in a trap like that again."

"If you never thought you would survive an attack like that," Frederick spoke up. Severa and the others instantly quieted. His eyes glanced at me over his shoulder. All I could do was shrink beneath his icy gaze, "how have you managed to survive for this long?"

Severa opened and closed her mouth, "Y-yeah?" She placed her hands on her hips and stared at me, "For someone that looked as helpless as you, how in Naga's name have you lived this long? I mean, you don't have any weapons on you. And you're only protection is that mutt." She nodded at the still nameless dog by my side, "You should have been one of the easiest victims those Risen have had in a long time."

I blinked, "That is an excellent question." Even I don't know the answer to that one. "Would you believe me if I said I had survived thanks to pure, dumb luck?"

Laurent shrugged, "I've heard stranger."

Noire kicked at some loose dirt, "We've all had those moments where we've only made it thanks to luck."

"But that's not-" Severa huffed, "Not my point. It is one thing to survive based on luck in a one-time situation. But for you," She looked me up and down, "Hell, I'm surprised the dog hasn't decided to eat you."

I pursed my lips, "That's not very nice of you."

"Yeah? Too bad." Severa replied. She turned to Frederick, "Should I gather firewood? Or is it still not safe enough?"

Please say yes to firewood. Please say yes to firewood. Not that I was cold during last night's campout or anything, my leather jacket did an excellent job of keeping me warm, but the light of a fire would do wonders to calm my nerves. Especially since I still had that childish fear of the dark sneaking around the back of my mind. A fear that would not stop tapping me on the mental shoulder whenever my thoughts drifted away from the even more terrifying Risen and the fact that I am in… another… world.

God, I'm not going to get over that one anytime soon.

Frederick shook his head, "If the Risen have pushed into Southtown, then there will be scouting parties moving into the forest already. Better for us to be safe than sorry." He hopped down from his horse, "Maybe tomorrow."

"But we'll be in Ylisstol by tomorrow night." Severa groaned.

"And there will be plenty of fires there." Frederick hummed back.

He dug into his saddlebags and withdrew a sack filled with hard biscuits. He tossed the bag over to Laurent. The mage easily caught it and withdrew one of those dry pieces of bread from it. He handed it over to Noire, who then handed it over to me. My stomach growled, and I gratefully accepted a biscuit. Not the most appetizing of meals. They were very bland and could use a slab of butter or a teaspoon of honey, but they did the trick in a pinch. Personally, I could go for a nice cheeseburger right about now.

My mouth watered at the thought of a cheeseburger. Do they have those in this world? If not, I might cry.

_Wait a moment!_ My brain caught up to what Frederick just said. The abandoned village I ended up in was Southtown. But… that can't be right. Southtown was a lively, vibrant town at the start of the Awakening game.

I spun the small biscuit slowly in my fingers as my mind reeled. Why would this be the start of the game? If this was the start, and I wound up in Southtown, then I should have met up with Chrom, Lissa, Robin, and Frederick. I should not have met Severa, Laurent, and Noire. Hell, at the start of the game, they technically were not even born yet.

The biscuit stopped spinning. My heart froze in my chest.

Something even worse than arriving at the start of Awakening has happened to me. I have been transported to the ruined future of that game. A future ravaged by an apocalyptic monster known as Grima. That would explain the presence of Severa, Noire, and Laurent. It would also explain the sudden appearance of the Risen, since they were not supposed to arrive until chapter two of the game.

Any chance I had of possibly surviving this horrible new reality has just died… fuck.

Noire furrowed her brow as he sat down on the ground and looked at me, "Sam? Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Maybe he has?" Severa shrugged.

"Correction. If there were any sort of paranormal anomalies in the area, the dog would have sensed them first." Laurent rubbed his chin as he studied the canine by my side, "And he does not seem to be reacting to anything."

Severa gave Laurent a sidelong glance, "It's a dog."

"Dogs can be surprisingly attentive and alert creatures, Severa." Frederick hummed as he withdrew a thin blanket from his saddlebags. He tossed one to Severa, "It would be foolish to ignore it. That dog will sense approaching Risen before we do."

Severa blinked, "R-really?"

Her question snapped me out of my fear-filled, doom riddled thoughts, "You… you doubt the dog?" I glanced down at my black, furry friend. It looked back up at me. Tongue hanging out, tail wagging, "He's lived for longer in that town that me."

Frederick tugged another blanket from his saddlebag, "So you are not from Southtown."

I puckered my lips. I should have seen this coming. Eventually, Frederick the Wary would want to know who I am and where I was from. And just saying, I'm Sam from some other land, would not do the trick. I also doubt he would be amused by a Sam I Am routine. In moments like this, I wish I did not crumble under pressure or panic so easily. If I could actually maintain a level head and think shit through, I would have come up with a solution to the coming questions while marching.

"N-no," I stammered back, "I uh… guess I'm not."

"You guess you aren't?" Severa spread her blanket out on the ground, "How do you guess you aren't from a town?"

"He could not remember where he is from," Noire suggested.

"Oh! Amnesia!" Laurent nodded. Frederick paused as he dug for another blanket, "Entirely possible. But… also rather unlikely. Unless he has sustained some serious blunt force trauma to the head, in which case, his brain could have been damaged enough to cause sudden memory loss."

Severa rolled her eyes, "We know what amnesia is, Laurent." She glanced over at Frederick, "What do you think, Sir?"

Frederick's eyes bore into me once again. This time, his glare did not seem so intense. He still viewed me with distrust, that much I could tell. But there was a sadness in his eyes as he glanced over at me. As if he was seeing someone else instead of me. Someone in a different place and a different time. That brief glance ended, and he continued rummaging through his saddlebags. He pulled out three more blankets, tossed one to both Laurent and Noire, then shoved the last one beneath his arm.

"Not likely." He breathed quietly before kneeling and spreading out his meager bed for the evening.

Severa shrugged and nodded towards Frederick, "I'm inclined to go with his opinion."

"But how can we know that he really isn't an amnesiac with no memory of home?" Laurent asked.

Noire sat down on her blanket. Her hands fidgeted with a black necklace. More specifically, the midnight colored gem that rested near her chest.

Severa scoffed, "You act like I can read the guy's mind. Gawds Laurent, I'm a swordsman, not a mage."

_Mages can read minds? Huh… that's something I never considered._

"I can't read minds either, Severa." Laurent hummed back.

I sighed in relief. That meant my thoughts, and the truth about who I am, would remain my little secret for a while longer. Keeping such a thing to myself was probably the right thing to do. I mean, would you believe some guy dressed up in strange clothes and declaring himself to be from another world? I know I wouldn't. I'd personally think that guy was high on some serious drugs.

"I um…" Noire gulped, "Maybe we should stop bothering Sam with questions. I mean, he did just survive a Risen attack."

"Barely," I added in.

"Thanks to us." Severa snorted, "And I never heard a thank you."  
I frowned back as she laid down on her blanket, "Thank you?"

Her eyes closed as she curled up on her side, facing away from me. Just barely audible over the breeze whistling through the dead trees, I thought I heard her say, "You're welcome."

"Don't pay her any mind," Noire muttered. Her fingers tapped the black gem on her necklace before she uttered a sigh, "Severa… warms slowly to other people."

"If at all." Laurent snorted under his breath.

"You three should rest as well," Frederick said as he took a seat on his blanket. He bit into his biscuit, chewed, then swallowed, "It'll be another long day of marching tomorrow. You all will need your strength." His eyes focused on me. As if he knew that I was the one hurting the most from the day's long march.

"Sound advice." Laurent yawned and stretched his arms over his head, "Who will take watch after you, Sir Frederick?"

Frederick nodded at Severa, "First one asleep, first one awake. Those are the rules."

"Oh, Sev's going to love that." Noire gulped before falling onto her back.

Laurent took off his hat and set it to the side. He ran one hand through his light brown hair then sighed.

"So… we'll return to Ylisstol by tomorrow evening?" He asked Frederick as he let loose another yawn.

Frederick nodded, "That is the plan. Hopefully, nothing will derail it. Now rest."

The finality in his tone forced me to flop onto my back. I heard Laurent yawn one more time before he also laid down.

I curled up onto my left side. For some reason, that side always felt more comfortable to sleep on. Although, I would be infinitely more comfortable if there was a mattress beneath me and not dirt, dead grass, and dry twigs. I huffed and turned over. The blanket's scratchy material caused some static to spark in the space between it and my coat. My head rubbed against a twig beneath the blanket. The sharp end of the twig dug below my ear.

_I could really use a pillow too._

I groaned and flopped onto my back—the worst possible position to sleep in at the moment. Not only did I manage to have another twig dig into my lower back, but I also smacked my head against a rock.

I hissed, jerked upright, grabbed the rock and chucked it with all of my might away.

"Frustrated?"

_Why have I lost my ability to fall asleep now? Of all times, why now?_

I turned my attention over to the watchful knight across the small camp. The lucky bastard was using a saddlebag for a pillow. He leaned back against the soft leather as his horse knelt behind him. His lance rested beside his blanket. And in his lap- I paled.

"That's a very sharp hunk of metal." I gulped.

Frederick nodded as he raised the knife in front of his face. The steel glinted in the faint moonlight. My throat went dry as I suddenly had the image of the man pouncing on me and endlessly stabbing that knife into my body.

_Less morbid thoughts now brain. Please? I already have enough on my plate._

Frederick tossed the knife up and caught it easily by the blade. He eyed me for a moment then gently threw the knife, grip end first, towards me.

And with all of the grace of an epileptic giraffe, I dropped it. I jumped in my seat as the steel bounced against my khaki pants. I stared down at the knife then glanced back up at Frederick. The knight's inclined his chin at me.

"You have no idea how to handle a weapon, do you?"

I flicked my gaze back down to the knife. Carefully, I picked it up. It felt a lot heavier than I was expecting. Then again, this did not look like your run of the mill pocket knife. The damn thing almost looked like a machete mixed with a bowie knife… I have a military father; I know some things. Just not a lot of things.

"How'd you guess?" I asked with a small laugh. I stared down at the blade. In the moonlight, I could see my dark reflection as a dark silhouette in the steel. Featureless and blank.

Frederick folded his hands in his lap, "You looked like you were about to scream when I tossed it over to you."

A sheepish laugh left my lips, "Well, uh… yeah.." I drummed my thumb against the hardened leather along the knife's handle, "You got me, I guess." I gulped and tried to toss the knife back to Frederick. But I misjudged my toss, and it landed with a soft thud in the dirt near his boots, "S-sorry."

He furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes at me. Once again, studying my appearance, my words, even how I slightly fidgeted beneath his stare. I tapped my index finger against my right leg as I waited for Frederick to say something.

"Let me take a guess." He began, "You woke up in a field. No memories of where you are from. In fact, the only thing you can remember is your name." I gulped as he continued glaring at me, "Am I getting somewhere?"

_The field part, yes. _I thought, _As for the memories, no._

The honest part of my mind yelled at me to just mention I had my memories. But then, how would I answer the flurry of questions that will come afterward? If I knew anything about Frederick from the game, he was relentless. Especially when he set his mind to a task. And his current task was deciphering me, the stranger that suddenly appeared in the middle of a Risen attack.

_Roll with it, Sam._

I gave Frederick a slow nod.

The Knight let out a small sound. He sank back into his saddle.

"I don't suppose you are actually a natural with both weapons and magic as well?"

I gulped, "Well… no. I mean," I nodded at the knife near his feet, "You saw for yourself when it comes to that sort of thing."

Frederick nodded, "Indeed." He frowned, "That begs the question once again; how have you survived this long if you have no martial or magical skills?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Luck?" I suggested, "Being in the right place at the right time? Maybe a divine plan of some sort? I don't know."

Frederick snorted, "Divine plan…" He glanced at the dead forest around us, "I stopped believing in such things a long time ago."

He took a deep breath, then glanced at me. Once again, it looked like he didn't see me, but instead saw another person in my place. Judging by the questions and inferences he was making, I had a pretty good idea as to which person he was thinking of at that moment.

_A certain tactician, no doubt._

"Get some sleep, Sam." Frederick said, "I'll wake you when it is time to march again."

I pursed my lips, "Should I be prepared to take up a watch or something?"

Frederick shrugged, "You can if you want to. I won't require it. From what I can tell, you are a civilian fortunate enough to have survived Grima's carnage so far. And as such, my job as a knight is to see you safely taken to the Halidom of Ylisse's stronghold. Once we are in Ylisstol, you can go about your own life. Now rest, it will be a long march tomorrow."

I replied with a small nod, then laid my head back down. After a few long, agonizing moments, weariness won out, and I drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

Nightmares… fucking nightmares. And not the traditional kind either. I did not dream of the boogeyman or some terrible things happening to me. Instead, I dreamed of home. I dreamed of that ice cube of a town I lived in.

When I first moved to that town, I thought it sucked. This quaint, midwestern town in northeast Wisconsin could not be further from my ideal place to live. It was frozen over half of the year. There was never much to do, even when the area was not covered in snow. That is probably why little Appleton is consistently voted the drunkest city in America, or one of them. Nothing better to do when you live in an ice cube then shamble to the bars and drink.

So all in all, the town always seemed dull to me. And in the back of my mind, I always wanted to get out of there. Go somewhere warmer. Somewhere with more life and more opportunity. I had visions of a dead-end life back home, and that scared me. And for the first few years after high school, I was living that dead-end life I was terrified of.

You would think that being taken by some magical, divine, unknown, whatever you want to call it force, to a different world would be a great thrill for me—especially given my feelings for where I once lived. But as I slept, and my mind lingered on home, I could not help but feel a slight ache in my heart. My parents still lived in that town. What were they feeling, now that I was suddenly gone? I did have some friends there. None I would call best friends, but some friends I could drink a beer with. Talk about the Packers with. And my brain chose now to replay some of the good times in my head. It was a strange type of nightmare that made me toss and turn.

Mercifully, something shook my shoulder. My eyes slowly fluttered open. I saw Frederick kneeling beside me.

"Wake up." He whispered before snapping his head to look behind him.

A loud yawn left my lips. Any weariness rushed away when Frederick clapped a hand over my mouth. At once, I was alert. My heart ran a million miles an hour in my chest as Frederick raised one finger to his lips.

I gave him a slow nod as he let his hand slide from over my mouth. I gulped and slowly rolled over.

The others were starting to move as well. Laurent snatched his hat and quickly slipped it over his head. His sharp eyes flicked back and forth as he studied the shadows around us. One hand reached into his robes, and he slowly withdrew his spellbook. Noire already had an arrow nocked in her bowstring. Her fingers tapped nervously against the feathered end of the shaft as she carefully watched the edges of our small camp.

Severa sat rigid on her blanket. Her sword rested by her side. One hand clutched the grip, and the other balled up the blanket between her fingers. Her face was pale, eyes wide, her chest rose and fell in heavy breaths.

But what really caught my attention was the dog. My canine friend sat back on his haunches. Ears pinned back, tail down, a slight whimper rasped from his muzzle.

"Hear them?" Severa whispered to Frederick. The dog whimpered, snarled, then whimpered again.

Frederick focused on the silent woods around us while I strained my hearing. I didn't hear a thing. Which really shouldn't be surprising. I always played music in my headphones at a volume that most doctors would consider very unhealthy. But hey, I don't want to hear the world around me. I want to listen to the amazing guitar solo.

In this instance, I wish I didn't screw up my hearing for all time. Because Frederick and the others clearly heard something moving nearby that worried them. And whatever worried these guys, these trained warriors, scared me shitless. Sweat started to pool in the palms of my hands as I snapped my gaze back and forth between Frederick and the others.

Something hard nudged my left shoulder. I turned my attention back to Frederick. My eyes widened as I stared at the same knife he tossed to me earlier that evening.

"You'll need this." He muttered.

If he says I need it, I need it. Though that does not mean it will do me any good. I've barely ever held knives, beyond a steak or kitchen knife, let alone ever swung one in self-defense.

I carefully wrapped my hand around the smooth, hardened leather grip. My throat felt dry as the full weight of the knife rested in my hand. Despite the obvious sharpness and danger the knife posed, I could not help but think back to the Risen that attacked in Southtown and think: _what the hell is this toothpick going to do to one of those?_

Frederick stood to his full height. He towered over me as he scanned the shadows around all of us once again.

Leaves rustled. Twigs snapped. My breath hitched, and my throat tightened. A sense of dread filled my body as I stared at the darkness. The eerie silence of the forest consumed the air around me. A chill crawled over the camp and crept over me. It sank its fingers into my skin, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

Heavy boots stomped closer to us. My grip on the knife became airtight. I glanced up at Frederick as I slowly got to my feet with the others.

I noticed Frederick's fist tighten around his lance.

"Move." He hissed to me.

Move? That could mean a lot of different things? Did he want me to move to the right? To the left? Up, forward, backward, back down to the ground, shake it all around? What did he mean by move?

Now you see what pressure and panic does to me.

Something whistled past my head. A sharp pain rushed over the right side of my head, and I felt something hot and sticky plaster that side. A loud cry escaped my lungs.

Shrieks answered my scream. Dozens of figures emerged in the shadows. Pinpricks of bright red light barreled towards us.

"Run!" Severa screamed.

_You don't have to tell me twice! _

I turned tail and took off in the opposite direction of the ambushing Risen. Dead branches and dry leaves crunched beneath my feet as I sprinted as fast as I could through the dark forest. I did not follow any visible trails. I didn't even know what direction I was running in. Just as long as it was away from the shrieking, snarling, undead monsters hellbent on killing me.

The dog barreled around me and ran into the darkness, not even bothering to stop and try to combat the monsters ambushing us. Laurent shot past me next. Then Noire. As they ran, Noire twisted around and fired an arrow behind us. A pain-filled howl erupted uncomfortably close.

Severa rushed by me next. All three of them sprinted further and further ahead of me.

_How are they running so fast!?_

I sprinted past a tree. A bad feeling crawled up my spine. The kind of bad feeling where you know something is both watching and following you.

I dared a glance over my shoulder.

"JESUS CHRIST!"

I stared straight into the waiting snarl of a Risen. Its mask had been chopped off at the jaw, revealed a dangling mess of bone and flesh that refused to close. Its red eyes glowed in the darkness next to me. And in those red eyes, I could see my terrified reflection staring back.

Metal hissed through the air. I reacted on pure fear and survival instincts, and ducked my head. A sword whistled through the air over my head.

"Oh shit, oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshit!"

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. But there was a problem. While I could walk a fair distance and not tire out easily, I can not run to save my life… literally, in this case. My body, to be quite honest, was not designed to run for distance or to run fast. I have every case of bad that can happen to someone with two functioning legs. Weak ankles, often injured knees, occasionally my right hip likes to pop, and that hurts like you would not believe. Oh, and flat feet, we can't forget those fuckers.

Metal whistled in the air again. I ducked behind a tree as fast as I could. The Risen's sword slammed into the trunk with a dull thunk. But before I could even react to nearly getting slashed to death, another Risen emerged in the darkness. This one with a bow and arrow.

_Not fair._

I yelped as I heard the bowstring twang in the darkness. Once again, I ducked behind my meager cover. The arrow skidded against the side of the tree before burrowing into the one just beyond it. As I cowered, the first Risen managed to yank his blade loose from the bark. I watched as that same, rusted sword rushed towards my head again.

I did not move. I froze like a deer in headlights. All I could see was the glint of moonlight against the metal as that blade hissed closer and closer to my face.

It never connected.

A lance caught the blade. That same lance then shoved the Risen back before burrowing its way into the Risen's stomach. The Risen archer nocked another arrow, but before it could fire, Frederick tore his lance free, spurred his horse, and rode it down, driving his lance through its rotting skull. Both Risen crumbled to ash. He wheeled his horse around and rode right at me.

"H-hey, I'm not a Risen! Don't stab me too!"

One strong, armored hand reached down, grabbed me by the back of my jacket, and yanked me up on top of the horse. I blinked, gulped, then wrapped my arms like a vice around Frederick.

More shrieks followed us as Frederick galloped fast through the forest. Just ahead, I heard a loud explosion. Firelight burst to life in the night. Twirling in the fire, was Laurent's silhouette as he charged another spell then launched another fireball into a pair of Risen. Severa roared beside him. Her sword hacked away at any Risen that dared to get close to her. Despite her smaller stature, she appeared to be an absolute force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Each strike had power behind it. Each slash was controlled and calculated. And for a girl, she had an intimidating growl.

But she was just one person, and Laurent could not cover her back forever. One Risen slipped past the inferno in his hands, rushing towards an unsuspecting Severa.

I don't exactly know what happened next. I heard Frederick call out to her. I saw Severa spin to look over at us, still not noticing the large, ax-wielding Risen bearing down on her. I felt Frederick level his lance as he spurred his horse to move faster. Only for his horse to buck as a Risen got in the way and jabbed a sword at its flank, sending me flailing ass overhead off of the horse.

I hit the ground, scrambled to my feet, and rushed towards Severa. Pain, like a hot iron being pressed against my side, erupted through me as my body slammed into hers, easily knocking her over.

We both hit the ground in a heap of limbs and curses. She bounced back up to her feet in half a second. With one swing, she cleaved the head of the Risen from its shoulders. Then she turned to me.

"You idiot! What were you-" Her words got stuck in her throat as she looked down at me.

The burning got worse. And… was my shirt sticking to my skin? I felt incredibly weak all of a sudden. I moved my hand to brush where I felt the pain. My fingers plunged into a warm, wet mess of-

"Oh…" I raised my hand and looked at my fingers. It took me a second to recognize the slick, scarlet liquid covering my hand, "That's… that's my blood." I glanced at my side and saw a massive tear in my jacket and side. Blood spurted out from the wound, "That's a lot of my blood."

My head fell back to the ground. It was so hard to move. I wanted to move, to keep running away. The Risen were still attacking. I could hear steel meeting steel as Frederick and Severa defended themselves. Over the violent clashes, I heard Noire shout in a voice I never thought could come out of the diminutive looking girl. But I could not make out the words.

Everything sounded dull. The sounds around me, even the snarls of the Risen that caused adrenaline to pump through my body, were fading. I stared up at the dark sky above me. A crescent moon sat overhead. Pale and dim in the night sky. The edges around it grew blurry. As my sight failed me, I heard more sounds. Undecipherable noises. More shouts and screams.

Someone rushed to my side. I felt a warm sensation rush over my body. Followed by a strange buzz concentrated on my side. A green glow filled my vision before it all faded to black.

**And chapter! This was an interesting chapter to write. And also a very challenging one to write. This type of story, a first person perspective like this, is so far out of my wheelhouse that it still feels like I'm learning how to properly write like this. It was still a fun chapter to write. It'll just be a matter of getting used to a much smaller scope as compared to the other stories I have written. With that said, I would love to hear whatever advice and criticism you guys have for me.**

**Also, I do want to give a shout out to three other authors on this sight! Narwhal Lord, RedXEagle, and LowerBlack, you guys have been huge helps so far, even though this story has barely gotten off the ground so far. If any of you readers haven't checked out their work, I highly ****recommend**** their stories. (****_All the World's a Sale_**** by Narwhal Lord; ****_Aberration_**** by RedXEagle; and ****_Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid_**** by LowerBlack). Also, all these guys are in the Treehouse. Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, i hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Also, check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Narwhal Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts. You can find it on Spotify, and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	3. Royalty, Thieves, and Teenagers

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 3

Royalty, Thieves, and Teenagers

First things first: I do not recommend, in any way, shape, or form, for no reason whatsoever, not even it is the right thing to do, tackling someone to the ground. For various reasons, of course. The most important of which is that it fucking hurts. I have never enjoyed tackling others to the ground. Not even during a brief, two month period in seventh grade when I tried playing school football. Of course, only being five feet tall and a hundred pounds at the time probably had something to do with that. But my aversion to decking another human being was born then, and it hasn't changed.

Secondly: I do not recommend tackling someone while simultaneously getting cut by a battleax. I'm sure you all can put the pieces together on that one. Imagine the initial, muscle scrunching, bone-crushing pain of slamming into another human being. Now combine that with a sharp, hunk of metal ripping your flesh into two separate, bloody pieces. From what little I can recall of such a sensation, it is not pleasant.

Thirdly: If you do happen to be in the unfortunate position of tackling another human being while an ax is trying to disembowel you, expect death to come shortly after. It's the only rational, logical step forward, especially when you are transported to a medieval world with no concept of advanced medicine, ambulances, or professional trauma doctors.

So imagine my surprise when I regained consciousness and found myself lying in a bed with white sheets over me and bandages covering my naked torso. I furrowed my brow as my head rested against one of the softest pillows I have ever felt in my life. A pillow that was so soft I swore it had to be made of some sort of memory foam. Which is technically impossible, because memory foam doesn't exist in Fire Emblem, right?

_Too tired to get into that mental debate. _

I let out a long groan as I raised my head from the pillow. The room I occupied was a small, cozy space. A fire burned in a fireplace across the room from me, heating the room to a warm, nearly sleep-inducing temperature. A pair of empty, wooden chairs sat near the small fireplace. And above the mantle of the stone fireplace sat a pretty landscape painting—a field filled with yellow and pink flowers with a bright, blue sky over it. The exact opposite of the world I woke up in.

My confusion grew as I turned my head, resisted the urge to fall asleep again as my head swam from the sudden motion, and noticed a nightstand beside the bed. On top of the nightstand was a bottle filled with a nebulous, purplish liquid. A note rested beside that bottle with my name on it in rather fancy, loopy letters.

I carefully moved my hand. The simple act of reaching for the note felt enormous. Every muscle in my arm groaned. The tendons and ligaments that connect the muscles to the bones popped, and the bones themselves creaked. After a couple of seconds of uncomfortable, dull pain, I snagged the note and opened it.

_Sam,_

_If you are reading this note, you woke up while_

_I was called away to take care of other duties._

_The bottle beside you is an elixir. Drink a third of it at a time, for as long_

_as any pain persists._

_Sincerely,_

_Lissa_

"Huh." I muttered to myself, "Who's Lissa?"

I popped the cork to the bottle open and swigged a third of the purple liquid into my mouth.

_You know exactly who the fuck Lissa is, you dipshit!_

I nearly spat out the liquid as my brain caught up to my eyes. I stared wide-eyed at the note that now rested on the table beside me. With a loud gulp, I choked down the elixir, gasped for breath, then snatched the note once again. I brought it closer to my eyes, trying to make sure that I did not misread the name on the note.

"Lissa…" I muttered.

The door to my room creaked open. I quickly shoved the note beneath the sheets.

"For the last time Frederick," A woman with long blonde hair held up in an intricate style that looked rather uncomfortable began, "I do not mind working on him at all." Her tan and yellow robes twirled as she spun away from the doorway and strode into my room.

Frederick followed the woman into the room. He had cleaned himself since I last saw him, now clean-shaven, and wearing a simple green jerkin and tan pants rather than his bulky armor. His brown boots were cleaned of any mud. Hell, they practically shone from the amount of polish scrubbed into the leather. And he did not seem as intense as he had been earlier. There was a much more relaxed posture to his walk at the moment. There was even a slight smile on his face as he followed the woman into my room.

The woman shuffled over to a water basin at the far end of the room, opposite of the door. She dipped her pale hands into the water, scrubbed at them with a brush, then wiped them off with a towel.

"I'm certain one of the regular healers are more than capable of handling Sam's injuries." Frederick hummed.

Lissa snorted, "Yeah, right." She tossed the towel off to a basket beside the basin. I flicked my eyes to that basket and paled a little bit when I saw other towels inside of it, most of them stained a dark scarlet color, "I guarantee you that when the time comes for me to peel those bandages off of him, there will hardly be a scar."

Frederick shuffled beside the door, "You never guaranteed that about my scar."

"That line on your face is hardly noticeable." Lissa replied with a wave of her hand.

"I notice it."

"Of course you-" Lissa trailed off as she turned around and noticed me, finally awake, "Oh!" Her blue eyes darted to the elixir in my right hand. She gave me a nod and glanced over at Frederick, "He's smarter than you made him out to be."

"I never-" Frederick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I never said he was not intelligent."

"No, you said, and I quote," Lissa cleared her throat then dropped her voice low, " 'I honestly have no idea how such a confused, ill-prepared, child managed to survive this long on his own'." She coughed, and her voice returned to normal, "Did I get that right?"

Frederick frowned, his brown eyes glanced at me, "You embellished my tone of voice a little bit."

"Of course I did, I'm not you." Lissa shrugged as she approached the side of my bed, "Alright." She pressed a dainty hand against my forehead, freezing me in my spot, "No fever. That's good." She glanced back at Frederick, "I need my healing staff."

A long sigh left Frederick's lips.

"I shall fetch it for you, milady."

He glared at me one more time, as if warning me not to say anything stupid, then left the room. As soon as the Knight was gone, Lissa let out a slight chuckle.

"I don't really need it right now, but I figured you would relax a little if he was out of the room." She strode over to one of the wooden chairs, grabbed it, and brought it over to my side, "Alright, come on, sheets down, I need to take a look."

I could feel my cheeks heat up at that. I already knew I was not in Awakening's correct timeline. Meeting Severa, Laurent, and Noire as adults, as well as combating several ambushes of Risen, confirmed that uncomfortable fact for me. So the Lissa was interacting with now was not the Lissa I knew from the game. She was not a youthful Shepherd. She was a fully grown woman. And… well… I've never been very good at interacting with the opposite sex.

And she looked nothing like how she did in-game. Now she wore the elegant robes of a high ranking noblewoman instead of a flouncy dress and corset. A crown, very similar to a golden halo, rested on her head. And there were worry lines on her face that I did not notice before, and that she clearly did her best to cover up. In the game, she always had this boundless energy to her character. But now, in this strange future that I knew nothing about, she possessed that energy but had it tempered with elegance.

She rolled her eyes a little bit.

"Don't be embarrassed; I've already seen it all." My cheeks turned an even darker shade of red, causing her to laugh, "Come on, let me take a look."

Reluctantly, I let her pull the sheets away from my body. Warm air hit my skin, causing goosebumps to form. This was the first time I had a chance to look at the damage done to me by the Risen.

I have never been covered by so many strips of cloth in my life. That includes Halloween party games that involved toilet paper mummies. Thick strips of the stuff were wrapped tight around my thin form. It almost looked like a white shell had encased my entire right side. My eyes then drifted further down, and I noticed I was wearing shorts that were not mine at all.

The shade of red I turned must've been very impressive, because as Lissa's fingers danced over the bandages, she chuckled again.

"You're obviously not that experienced."

I gulped, "What gave it away?"

"Well?" Lissa put a finger to her chin as she paused in her work, "You went from a pinkish color, to a red color, then to a very, very red color. Borderline purple. Were you holding your breath at all?"

I slowly shook my head.

"Hm." Lissa nodded before she started to undo the bandages over my right side, "I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised. Not a lot of time to engage with the ladies when you are surviving on your own, right?"

"R-right." I stammered.

My face turned from dark red, to ghost pale as the last bandage was pulled away. There were still splotches of red staining my skin. A hideous, purple line of lumpy flesh ran up my side, from hip to rib. Yellow and purple bruises were splattered all over that side like an abstract painting.

"Not bad." Lissa muttered, "Maybe one more healing session will be needed, but I think we can hold off for now. We'll see how the elixirs do." She tossed the bandages towards the basket. She missed it, but did not seem to care, "I'll put some fresh ones on now. And I won't layer them up as much." She moved to the nightstand and withdrew a fresh roll of gauze from one of the drawers, "Sit up. Gotta help me out here, Sam."

I winced as I tried to force myself upright. Every muscle in my torso flexed at the same time. A whimper of pain escaped my lips.

Lissa placed her gentle hand on both my shoulder and chest then helped me prop myself upright.

"You'll get stronger, don't you worry about that." She hummed before starting to wrap the bandages in several, thinner layers around my side, "Take another swig of that elixir. That should help."

I obeyed and choked down a third of the bitter-tasting liquid once again. A long breath left my lips when I pulled the bottle away and smashed the cork back into it.

A wave of warmth ran over my body. Some of the aches, pains, and stiffness subsided. If I had to compare it to anything, I'd compare it to taking way too much ibuprofen. Like, way more than the bottle says you are supposed to. But damn does it do the trick when you need it. I glanced down at the nearly empty bottle in my hand.

"That stuff works too good."

Lissa snorted, "Laurent and Miriel do a good job with it, that's for sure." She tied off the bandages and shoved the rest of the roll back into the drawer. She then stared at me for a moment, "So, the next topic of business. Firstly, that nasty gash wasn't the only wound you received." She gestured at my ear, "An arrow nicked your ear. That was an easy fix. Healing staff sealed that right up."

I blinked. She healed my ear?

_No wonder I'm hearing better on that side._

"Next, Frederick and the others informed me that they found you alone with a dog in the Southtown ruins." Lissa leaned back in her chair, crossed one leg over the other, and folded her hands in her lap, "Freddy, if he were to have his way at the moment, would question you as to why you were in that place to begin with and how you managed to survive so long. But, Laurent and Noire stopped him by reminding him, and informing me, that you apparently have some strange case of amnesia. Am I correct?"

Oh right, that little white lie. I almost forgot about that one. It was a lie I intended to keep going for at least a little while longer. I mean, there is no way in hell anyone would believe me if I started spouting off that I was from another world and that all of these people, and the world they inhabited, were nothing more than a game I played for my amusement. That their lives were nothing more than fantastical stories made to entertain people in my world. I sure as shit would not believe that if I were in their position. And in my mind, why open that can of worms right now when literally no one knew or trusted me.

Once again, I played along, and just nodded my head.

"You just know your name?" Lissa continued.

I nodded again, "It's um… Sam uh… Wheeler. Samuel Wheeler."

Lissa tilted her head a little bit, "Wheeler? A surname then? That's actually a little surprising. I don't think you are nobility of any sort. And usually a surname is a noble thing to have." I cursed myself mentally, "Interesting." She gave me an amused look, "Now you look like I just threatened your life." She chuckled, "Don't be so worried, Sam. You are among friends here. Especially after what you did in the forests to the south."

I furrowed my brow in confusion, "After what I-" I pursed my lips, "C-can you give me a reminder about what exactly I did?"

Lissa blinked, "Oh? You don't remember? Well, I suppose that's not uncommon. Not many people would want to remember how they almost died. But if you do want to know, you saved Severa's life. Took an ax for her in fact." A slight frown graced her usually cheerful face, "She should be up here thanking you, now that I think about it." Her fingers tapped against her leg, "I'll get her to do it in a little bit."

"Y-you," I laughed a little to myself, "You don't have to make her do anything."

"Nonsense, of course I can make her do anything. For one, I'm practically her surrogate mother. And for two, I am the ruling Exalt. What I say goes, ha!" She snorted and laughed lightly again, "Don't worry, I'm not that crazy. Severa really should be up here thanking you. But… since she is not, I will extend my thanks for her."

I gave Lissa a small smile. Somehow she managed to calm my nerves down in that moment. I'm not sure if it was just a healing aura she gave off, or her carefree manner that calmed me down, but whatever it was worked. Any panic I had over the past few… hours? Days? Uh…

"It was not a problem." I muttered back before clearing my throat, "How long was I out?"

Lissa thought for a moment, "Well, you and the others were rescued Wednesday night, now it is Saturday so… that'd be about four days."

My jaw hung open. Lissa gave me a grin.

"And you must be hungry."

I nodded dumbly. She extended a hand.

"Come on, I'll help you out. We'll get some food in that gut of yours now."

For such a small lady, she had some strength in her arms. Lissa was easily able to haul me up to my feet. She managed to steady me as my legs shook and knees knocked during my first couple steps. Once I managed to find my balance, she guided me towards the door. Just as we reached the door, Frederick returned.

"Milady, I was not able to find your healing staff. Perhaps you left it-"

"Don't need it," Lissa replied as we brushed past him.

I did not look back to see the perplexed, borderline frustrated look on the Knight's face. Because I'm pretty sure that if I did, bad things would happen. Most likely directed at me.

* * *

_How on earth can a medieval kitchen make a ham sandwich I actually like? _I thought as I took another large bite from the sandwich in my hands.

I currently sat outside in the Exalt's Palace courtyard. Lissa said I needed to get some fresh air since I had been cooped up indoors, in a comatose state, for four days. Sunshine would do me some good. Help me feel refreshed and relaxed. So once we visited the palace kitchens, got some food from a particularly grouchy, old, cook, she shooed me out to a bench in the courtyard then scrambled off to go handle Exalt business or something along those lines. She wasn't very specific about what she had to do.

Not that she needed to be specific with someone like me. I was a stranger who happened to survive a Risen attack and (through an act of idiotic bravery) took an ax to the side for someone I had just met. Exalt's, royalty in general, did not have to be bothered with giving me an explanation about anything. Honestly, I was mostly flattered that Exalt Lissa even gave me the time of day. You'd think someone as important as her would-be busy dealing with pressing kingdom issues like taxes, the harvest, the fact that undead monsters prowl the land. Mundane stuff like that.

I took another bite of my sandwich and let out a very happy hum. Usually, I do not like ham sandwiches. Mostly because of… we'll call it bad experiences with them. Maybe I was just starving (obviously, I have been unconscious for four days), or perhaps a medieval kitchen made their ham a certain way, but my god, this thing was the most delicious sandwich I have ever had in my life.

_How do they season it? _

I went to take another bite then paused as I heard a strange, loud ringing coming from somewhere nearby. I furrowed my brow and waited for a moment. The ringing ended. With a shrug, I moved to take another bite.

A loud clank, more ringing, and a shouted curse nearly caused me fumble my sandwich into the grass at my feet.

"What the hell?" I muttered as I strained to hear where the noises were coming from. But when that didn't work, I got up, winced as my muscles groaned due to the sudden strain of moving, and trudged my way across the courtyard, following the sound.

I felt like I limped a mile before I finally reached the source of the sound. Christ almighty, the Palace had a massive courtyard. It was almost like it wrapped around the massive building. I paused and sucked in a deep breath. A sudden wave of weariness slammed into me.

_I got to sleep for four days and all of a sudden I can't walk now? _I exhaled and rose back to my full height.

I walked a little further, all the way around the palace until I reached what looked like a stable near the main gate. The courtyard was nowhere near as well manicured near the stable. The grass was patchier, with weeds sprouting all over and dirt patches littering the area. Deep gouges marred the otherwise flat land. I noticed a few practice dummies made of burlap and straw, wearing wooden armor, lined up on stakes near the stable, and a smaller builder built along the palace wall.

Then I noticed a small group of people in front of those practice dummies. Four people in fact. The first was a young teenage girl with dark blue hair wearing a set of bright steel armor with a skirt covering her upper legs. A bright smile rested on her pale lips as she bounced up and down on a bench and watched two others fight in front of her.

Beside her sat a guy who looked a few years older than her. He had dark brown hair that appeared to be receding a little bit, a scar over his left eye, and an overall disgruntled look on his face. Tattered, mottled robes covered his body. A strange staff leaned up against his body as he lounged back in his seat and observed the two fighters dueling in front of him.

The two fighters were sights to behold. The first was a young man with bright, blonde hair. He was an athletic, but shorter guy, wearing what appeared to be some light leather armor. He fought with a wide grin and boundless energy. Whenever he struck at his opponent, he would quickly retreat, bouncing on his toes and laughing as he went. Which frustrated the tank of an opponent in front of him.

That tank wore a massive set of heavy armor that covered everything except her head. And I could tell it was a her because the armor still sported accentuated… shall we say certain protections near the general chest area? She was taller than her opponent, and possibly stronger because she wielded an unwieldy looking shield that was nearly as tall as she was and a spear that nearly reached her opponent as he scampered back again.

"Stand still, Owain!" The woman in heavy armor growled.

"Tis not in my nature to remain still, Kjelle!" Owain declared before dashing forward and slashing at her.

Kjelle growled as his sword bounced harmless off of her massive shield. She snarled as she shoved her spear forward, only for the much nimbler Owain to bounce to the side and avoid the blow.

"Gods above, this dodging crap is getting annoying!" Kjelle snarled.

"You can do it, Kjelle!" The girl with blue hair cheered as she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Yeah… you can… aw hell," The guy with the staff snorted, "Kjelle, you have as much of a chance catching Owain as Inigo actually has of gettin' laid."

"Har! I shall prove you wrong!" Kjelle declared before rushing forward with surprising speed.

She bashed her shield against a stunned Owain, causing the smaller boy to stagger backward. Kjelle then snapped the butt of her spear out and caught Owain by the ankle, tripping him and sending him sprawling into the dirt. The guy with the staff howled with laughter as Owain tried to scramble away only for Kjelle to jab the point of her spear beneath his chin.

"Told ya," Kjelle remarked as she glanced over at her two observers.

Owain sagged once Kjelle removed her lance from beneath his chin, "Well fought, oh mighty Kjelle. It appears that the fell sword hand of mine has yet to match your prowess in combat."

"Mhmm, don't forget it." Kjelle hummed as she leaned her spear up against the wall of the small, squat building and reached for a skin of water held out to her by the blue-haired girl. As she sipped on the water, she glanced around. That is when she noticed me.

As soon as those brown eyes landed on me, I froze. What do I do? I have just been watching them fight each other, didn't say a word, didn't even say that I was there. Was that awkward for me to do? I don't know. All I know was that Kjelle was giving me a rather suspicious glare. And if she was anything like she was in the game, then I did not want to end up pissing her off.

She nudged the guy with the staff.

"What?" The guy grunted, mildly annoyed.

"Who's he?" Kjelle nodded in my direction.

"Hm?" The guy looked over at me, "Aw hell." He spat into the dirt and got to his feet, "That's sleeping beauty. And he ain't supposed to be up and about like this."

"Sleeping beauty?" Cynthia said, puzzled.

"Tis the man who saved Severa's life by nearly giving his own!" Owain declared.

Before any of them could stop him, and before I could make a very slow escape, Owain marched up to me.

"Welcome friend. Comrade, I should say, given that you have already shed blood for us." Owain took my hand and shook it with a wide grin, "Come and join us Sir…?"  
"Sam," I replied simply, still unsure of how to handle the situation.

"Sam, a hero's name!" Owain wrapped an arm around my shoulders and, in a surprisingly forceful way, guided me towards the other three, "May I present to you all, brave hero Sam! Sam, may I present-"

"Quit the flowery words crap. It gets confusing." The guy with the staff spat into the dirt again, "Name's Brady. I saved your ass. That's all ya need to know."

I blinked, "Wait you-"

"Don't pay him any mind; he's an asshole to everyone." Kjelle said with a roll of her eyes, "I'm Kjelle, I also saved your ass. And you're welcome."

"You guys saved asses without me?" The blue-haired girl cried, aghast. She folded her arms and frowned, "No fair."

Brady snorted, "That there is Cynthia." He nudged her with his knee, "Ya gonna say hi or not?"

"Of course I am!" Cynthia stuck her tongue out at Brady, "You just haven't given me the chance." She then smiled sweetly at me, "Hi, I'm Cynthia."

"He already knows that." Kjelle sighed.

"Well, I'm telling him now." Cynthia folded her hands and straightened her posture, "It is a proper introduction, as Auntie Maribelle would say."

Brady groaned and rubbed at his eyes, "Would you please not bring up Ma right now?"

"Why?" Kjelle snorted, "In her doghouse again?"

"What do you think?"

"Friends," Owain cut them off, "We should not trouble brave Samwise."

_Samwise? Am I a hobbit all of a sudden? _

"We should instead, give him a chance to introduce himself. And upon doing so, we should ask increasingly invasive questions so that we know for certain he is a hero and not an enemy in disguise!" Owain finished.

"I'm sorry, what?" I remarked.

"Oh, yeah! He could be playing us. Sir Frederick always tells us to be vigilant." Cynthia nodded along, "And we must remain vigilant in order to avoid getting hurt."

Kjelle raised her eyebrow, "I doubt this guy could hurt a chipmunk. I mean look at him. I could wrap just one of my hands around his entire arm."

"Could be a mage." Brady shrugged.

"Oh! Are you?" Cynthia asked, starry-eyed.

"I-"

"Are you seriously excited about a possible enemy mage in our midst?" Owain asked Cynthia, frowning a little bit, "You know that he could be very dangerous if he is one."

I frowned, "Would you let me-"

"You're the one that went up and shook his hand without knowing his name." Cynthia pointed out.

"I happened to be executing a perfectly normal strategy that Morgan would refer to as, lowering the guard." Owain retorted.

Kjelle pinched the bridge of her nose. She tapped Brady's shoulder, "You got any of the stuff?"

"Yup." Brady reached into his robes and withdrew a small, metal flask. He took a long sip from it then passed it to Kjelle, "At the rate they're going, we're gonna need it."

Kjelle took a long gulp from the flask as Owain and Cynthia continued to bicker. I tuned out the bickering, mostly because it devolved from arguing about how dangerous I, an enemy mage in service to the Fell Dragon, was and turned into calling each other meanie and other insults. Some insults Owain said I could not make sense of and likely only ever heard in that one medieval Monty Python film.

I felt metal tap against my chest.

"Here." Kjelle held out the flask to me, "For the soon to be arriving headache."

I arched an eyebrow and gingerly took the flask. I was not sure what exactly was in it. I mean, I knew it was alcohol of some sort, I could smell it. And it smelled damn powerful. But was it bourbon? Rum? Vodka? Did they even have those in this medieval place?

_Not like it really matters. _I thought as I took a swig of the stuff.

Burning! Lots of burning! It felt like I just took a shot of rubbing alcohol. I jerked the flask away from my lips and let out a loud wheeze. Sputtering coughs erupted from my chest as I struggled to catch my breath. Both Kjelle and Brady chuckled beside me.

"He ain't used to this stuff," Brady remarked as he took the flask back from my outstretched hand.

"No kidding." I wheezed and coughed into my sleeve, "What the hell is that?"

"Pure Feroxi Firewine." Brady remarked, "Nicked it from Ma and Pa's supply." He gulped, "Come to think of it, that's probably why Ma is mad at me today."

"Probably." Kjelle nodded.

"Agreed!" Both Owain and Cynthia cried loudly, startling all three of us with both their loud shout and the sudden end to their argument.

Owain turned to me, "So, Sam, may we ask how you came to be in the same company as our friends Severa, Laurent, and Noire?"

I blinked, "Oh well um-"

I thought about it for a moment. I needed to be vague, but not too vague. Once I mentioned that I was in the ruins of Southtown all on my own, there would be a flurry of questions that I did not know how to answer at the moment. With that in mind, I proceeded in my blatantly blurry truth-telling.

"Your friends and Sir Frederick rescued me from a Risen attack, along with a dog that I recently found." I answered, "I decided to stick around them since they, you know, had weapons and stuff."

Kjelle raised her brow, "You were out in the wild without a weapon?"

Brady whistled low, "You're either ballsy or just plain stupid."

I bristled, "Well, it's not like I even know how to use one so what good would one do me?"

Owain drew back in surprise, "Are you saying you do not know how to wield a sword?"

"Or a lance?" Cynthia continued.

"Can't even swing a club?" Brady questioned before knocking back another sip of firewine.

"Well, I probably could swing a club. But you all tell me how much good a club will do against one of those monsters?"

Kjelle snorted, "Fair point. I doubt you could even dent their armor." She punched my arm, nearly knocking me over, "Seriously, nothing but skin and bone there."

_You try living off of Ramen Noodles and Mcdonald's dollar menu. Then you can let me know how much muscle you put on. _I thought to myself.

A sharp whistle pierced the air. Kjelle froze, Owain sucked in a sharp breath, and Cynthia quickly stood up from where she sat. Brady just sagged and hung his head.

"Fuck me; he's back," Brady muttered under his breath.

Sir Frederick marched towards us, hands clasped behind his back, stern gaze focused on all five of us as we remained motionless next to the bench. He came to a stop in front of Owain and Kjelle, one eyebrow raised as he observed the scuffs in Kjelle's armor and the stains on Owain's clothes.

"Fighting again I see?" He remarked.

"T-training, sir." Kjelle gulped.

"Indeed." Owain nodded.

Frederick hummed. His eyes never left us as he moved around me and Kjelle and reached for Kjelle's spear, still leaning up against the wall. He tossed it in his hand, easily catching it once again. As if the thing weighed nothing at all. A long frown came over his face as he observed the tip of the spear.

"What have I told you all about fighting with sharpened weapons?"

Owain and Kjelle paled.

"To not do it." Owain kicked at the dirt near his feet, not raising his gaze to meet Frederick's.

"Sir, the training weapons are different than our own and-"

"And nothing, Kjelle." Frederick cut her off, "One wrong move, and one of you could have been killed. I better not see something like this again." He set the spear back up against the building, "Both of you will be scrubbing the barracks bathhouse top to bottom tonight as punishment for your dangerous actions."

Both Owain and Kjelle groaned. Brady started to snicker at their despondent reactions.

"Brady, I shall inform your mother that you did not try to stop them."

Brady turned white as a sheet.

"And Cynthia…" Frederick eyed the young girl. She gulped under his intense glare, "Your Aunt Lissa will not be pleased with you. You'll join Kjelle and Owain in cleaning tonight. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," Cynthia mumbled.

Frederick nodded silently. He turned to me and placed me under the same, intimidating glare he had given the others.

"Did you see them doing this?"

Sweat beaded on my brow. I swallowed nervously. Before I could reply, Brady cleared his throat.

"Sir, he just arrived and-"

Frederick glanced at him, and Brady quickly shut up. He returned his gaze to me. I stared up at him.

_Why do you have to be so damn tall?_

"Well?" Frederick asked.

I gulped and opened my mouth to answer.

"Freddy, don't lay into the guy so much."

Frederick let out a long sigh. Meanwhile, I thanked God someone decided to interrupt us. But who was this someone that decided to mercifully spare me Frederick's interrogation?

Frederick turned around to greet an orange-haired man lazily strolling up to us. A long, lollipop stick dangled from the corner of his mouth and a small grin rested on his lips. There was a mischievous sparkle in his eyes that made me feel both at ease, and for some reason, slightly wary around him. But judging by his attire (light clothing with a dark cloak over his shoulders and a black headband over his forehead), and the rainbow lollipop he pulled from his mouth as he sauntered up to Frederick, this had to be Gaius.

Frederick took in a deep, calming breath, "Gaius." He greeted cooly.

Gaius winced, "Geez, big guy." He patted Frederick's chest as he walked by the taller man, "No need to be so cold. We're friends, aren't we? Unless you're upset that I interrupted your interrogation."

"I am not upset that you interrupted me." Frederick looked at me again, "I can always continue later."

"Yeah, you can." Gaius nodded, "By the way, Twinkles sent me to find you. Said something about needing some muscles. Don't know why. But Crackpot can't do it cause, well, you know. So she needs ya."

_Twinkles? Crackpot?_

Frederick sighed, "Very well." He eyed all five of us again, "I will be back later to make sure you carry out your punishments."

And he strode away, as stiff as ever. But once he was out of sight, all of my new friends visibly relaxed. Any tension in the air evaporated away as Gaius gave me a mischievous grin.

"Knew that'd get rid of him." He said before glancing at Kjelle and Owain, "But he ain't wrong. Both of you need to be smarter than that."

"You were watching the entire time?" Kjelle said, mouth agape.

"And you're surprised because?"

"You could have stopped us!" Owain declared.

Gaius shrugged, "Yeah, I could have." He stuck the lollipop back into his mouth, "But then I would've missed the looks on your faces when Freddy caught ya."

Kjelle uttered a frustrated growl, grabbed her spear, and marched to, what had to be, the barrack's door.

"No honor among thieves." She grumbled as she threw the door open and marched in.

"I take that as a compliment, and you aren't a thief." The door slammed and Gaius shrugged, "What's with her today? Oh well. Come on kids. Let's get scarce before Freddy finds out I just lied to him."

Owain and Cynthia's jaws fell open.

"Oh don't look at me like that, he probably already suspects I lied. But he doesn't know for certain." Gaius pointed out, "And, because I invoked little lady Twinkles, he is duty-bound to go check on her… all the way in the market district. So we've got some time to relax inside."

He waved for us to follow him into the barracks. Once we all got indoors, he quietly shut the door behind us.

The barracks common room was a cozy space. A small, stone fireplace sat nestled into a wall near a hallway, and a bar counter ran along the wall to the door's left. A hodgepodge of different chairs and tables littered the open floor. Some fur rugs lined the stone floor. It gave off a warm feeling once we walked in. A feeling that calmed my nerves a great deal.

"You said Ma was at the market?" Brady commented as he moved across the room and flopped into a big, red felt chair.

"Yup." Gaius moved to the fireplace and threw a few logs into it while I took a seat on a leather sofa. Cynthia flopped down next to me, "Said something about going to buy some healing stuff from Red."

"Anna's back in town!?" Cynthia asked, excited.

Gaius nodded, "Hopefully for a while." He grabbed a flint and steel and easily sparked a fire in the fireplace. Once the flames were burning warm and bright, he set the flint to the side and exhaled, "It's getting dangerous out in the wild nowadays."

"It's been dangerous for a long time now." Brady hummed, "Just ask Sam."

"Hm?"

_Real intelligent reply there, Sam._

"Sam?" Gaius looked over at me as he sat down in a wooden chair. He pointed at me, "That's your name?"

I nodded.

"You're the one Freddy and friends found half-dead in the woods?"

I nodded again, "Apparently. Although, I wasn't half-dead when they found me initially. That happened thanks to a dumb decision on my part."

"You think saving Sev's life was a dumb decision?" Cynthia asked.

I opened my mouth to reply. Then I froze when I saw the hurt, borderline tearful, expression on Cynthia's face.

"I uh… well… you tell me how smart it is to jump in front of an ax?"

"Not very." Brady hummed, "Lucky your even breathing. But still, if it wasn't you, it would've been Sev. So thanks."

"Uh… your welcome?" I replied.

"It was a selfless act of heroism, good Samwise." Owain nodded emphatically as he sat at a barstool and reached for a glass and bottle behind the counter, "One that should not be belittled nor forgotten!"

"Yeah, uh, sure," I said back.

"Heat of the moment sort of thing?" Gaius asked me as he took off his cloak and flung it over an empty chair.

"I guess."

Gaius nodded, "It happens. Just be glad you survived it." He shifted his lollipop over to the inside of his other cheek, "So, Sam, where ya from?"

"Um-"

"He don't remember." Brady answered for me, "Laurent told me while I was treating him on the road that he's got some sorta amnesia going on."

"Really?" Gaius remarked, "Did you hit your head too hard on something?"

_Oh you have no idea. _I thought as images of a bus screaming towards me came to mind.

Gaius shrugged, "Well, no point in asking you questions you can't answer. So I guess we'll just get to know you from here." He placed his hands behind his head and leaned his head back, "Any of you guys know when the others are getting back?"

"You mean Luci, Morgan, and the others?" Cynthia asked.

"Who else?" Gaius hummed as he closed his eyes.

"No clue." Brady sighed, "They've been gone for some time. I know Ma and Pa are getting worried about them."

"My father is by their side. No greater swordsman exists in the Halidom." Owain declared as he jumped from his seat, glass of firewine in hand, "And Kjelle's mother stands by their side as well. Our friends are safe and sound, I assure you."

"I hope so." Cynthia muttered, "The Justice Cabal wouldn't be the same without Morgan."

I arched an eyebrow, confused.

"Who's gone?" I asked.

Gaius pulled a stool close to him with his foot, then kicked his feet up onto it, "Princess Lucina, Morgan, Gerome, Inigo, Mister Super Swordsman, Padre, and Butch."

"I heard that!" Kjelle roared from down the hall. She emerged from the hallway, no longer wearing her armor, but instead a tight-fitting black shirt and tan pants, "And if mother heard you call her that, she'd knock your lights out."

"If she could catch me." Gaius snorted back while Kjelle sat down in the chair to my right.

"Give her one chance, and she will. Mark my words one day, she'll get you." Kjelle huffed. She turned her attention to me. The door to the barracks opened then closed "So Sam, why'd you save Severa?"

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, a different voice cut me off.

"I'd like to know the answer to that one too," Severa said as she stomped past the bar and flopped into a large, leather chair close to the fire.

Gaius grinned at Severa, "Nice of you to join us, Sevvy."

"Don't call me that." She snapped quickly.

"It is quite the conundrum attempting to deduce your irrational actions, Samuel."

I turned my head around and saw Laurent take a seat at the bar. Walking in with him was-

"Holy crap he made it." I breathed.

That black dog I befriended in Southtown barked then rushed up to me, burrowing his nose in my lap as his tail wagged rapidly.

"Aw, he's so cute!" Cynthia smiled. She reached out and pet his head, "A friend of yours?" She asked me.

"New friend," I replied. I scratched the dog behind his dark ears. Now that he wasn't covered in dirt and grime, I could see that he looked almost like a German Shepherd. But that wouldn't be name of that breed of dog in a place where Germany did not exist, "I see you guys cleaned him up."

"Yeah…" Severa muttered barely over her breathing, "Your welcome."

I glanced up at the disgruntled redhead, quite surprised by her actions. She noticed my stunned look and rolled her eyes.

"You saved my life, I washed your dog. We'll call it even."

"Are you saying the value of your life is equal to a dog wash?" I asked with a wry smirk.

Her cheeks reddened with both frustration and embarrassment, "Well no- I just-" She uttered a loud huff and folded her arms, "Just accept the thank you gesture, damn it."  
I chuckled to myself, "I accept. And your welcome too." He looked back at my canine friend, "Hm… what to name you?"

"I suggested naming him Vaike but Laurent didn't take too kindly to that name."

"My father was not a canine, Severa." Laurent hummed.

"He acted like one sometimes." Gaius snickered, "And had the same intelligence as one too." He sighed, "I miss that lout."

I raised an eyebrow, briefly confused by Gaius's sudden melancholy. Then I recalled Lissa mentioned she was Severa's surrogate mother.

_This is the bad future. _I reminded myself. A sobering thought hit me, and my chest tightened. I glanced at the mix of teens and young adults around me. _Some of their parents are probably long gone by now._

"He's really happy." Cynthia said as she kept scratching the dog's ear, "I say we name him Happy!"

"That's dumb name, Cynthia," Severa mumbled.

"Nay, I say it is a swell name!" Owain cried, "As long as that dog remains with us, happiness shall always remain. For we now have Happy by our side."

I looked back down at the dog. Just a few days ago, it had bloody teeth barred at me and probably wanted to rip my throat out. But now, it wagged its tail and rested its head in my lap as I ran my fingers through its fur. Just the image of the vicious dog combined with the name Happy made me chuckle.

"Sure, why not." I laughed, "Happy it is."

"Yay!" Cynthia cheered before sliding down from her chair and wrapping the dog in a big hug.

The door to the barracks opened. A rush of cool air burst in. Both Kjelle and Brady paled.

"Shit." Brady gulped.

"Brady Roderick Themis!"

Judging by the proper, yet furious tone, the clacking of heels on the stone floor, and the abject look of terror on Brady's face, I knew exactly who just barged into the barracks. Sure enough, a rush of pink and blonde stormed past me and towered right over a cowering Brady.

And for such a small lady, she had an enormous presence. Even though she was across the room from me, I felt like her anger was directed just as much at me as it was at Brady.

"H-hey M-ma."

Maribelle cracked him over the head with a pink parasol.

"Mother!" Brady howled, correcting himself.

"I cannot believe you would so willingly allow your friends to endanger themselves so!" Maribelle exclaimed as she tucked her parasol beneath her arm and wagged a finger in Brady's face, "If you think you Sir Frederick's punishment would be severe, then you have another thing coming."

Maribelle gripped Brady's ear and yanked him out of his seat, through the common room, and marched him towards the door. She paused for a brief second beside me. Her sharp eyes darted at me.

"Good, you're awake." She eyed Brady, "Did he inform you as to what happened?"

"Uh… yeah." I gulped, "And I thanked him."

"He did, Mother. Honest." Brady said quickly before wincing as her grip on his ear tightened.

"Good," Maribelle said before dragging Brady to the door, where Frederick lingered. As they exited, I heard Maribelle say one last thing to Brady, "Wait until your father hears what you did. The nerve you have to-"

The door shut. All eyes, except Gaius's, turned to Frederick.

"Damn, Freddy." Gaius hummed as he kept his eyes closed and leaned back comfortably in his chair, "You got to her fast."

"I met her halfway to the markets."

Gaius cracked an eye open, "On her way back home already? Anna must've said something she didn't like then. No wonder she came tearing in here like a bat from hell. Poor Brady, he's even more screwed now than before." He turned his attention to Kjelle and Owain, "Sorry, kids, I tried to give you more time."

"All of you start working," Frederick ordered.

"Yes sir!" Cynthia, Kjelle, and Owain said all at once before rushing down the hall.

Severa furrowed her brow as she watched all three scramble away.

"What did I miss?"

"Some funny shit." Gaius chuckled, "Right, Sammy?"

_At least it's not Samwise._

"I guess." I shrugged.

Frederick did not say a word as he took a seat in the spot where Kjelle had been sitting. His eyes darted to the dog panting next to me.

"I see you've reunited with your friend," Frederick said.

"Yup." I nodded, "Say hi to Happy."

Frederick said nothing. Instead, he just gave me a weary look. Gaius snorted beside him.

"Looks like Freddy could use a little more Happy in his life."

Severa snickered. I chuckled. Laurent spat out some of his drink as he struggled to contain his own laughter. Frederick simply sighed and shook his head.

"I need to make sure that those three actually clean." A loud crash came from down the hall. Cynthia and Owain's bickering followed it, "And make sure they don't try to kill each other."

"Have fun babysitting, Freddy." Gaius said as Frederick marched down the hall. Gaius rolled his head and looked at me. One of his hands dug into his pocket and tossed me a lollipop, "Enjoy." He smiled at me, "And welcome aboard."

I gave him a confused look, "What?"

Severa rolled her eyes, "Frederick didn't kick you out of the barracks." She explained, "So that means… you're in with us. Probably thanks to Aunt Lissa." She then muttered some more under her breath, "And probably because you did something brave, not like that really matters."

"I'm in what?"  
And there is my oh so quick brain showing up right on time.

Gaius smirked, leaned his head back again, and closed his eyes.

"Eat the candy and enjoy it kid. Cause Freddy is gonna start teaching ya a thing or two." He smirked at me as my stomach dropped, "And there is no candy allowed in his training course."

**And chapter! Not as action packed as the last two chapters, but still an extremely fun chapter for me to write. We were introduced to a ton of characters this chapter, so there was a lot of juggling to do. I hope I did a decent enough job at that. **

**Anyways, let me know what you guys think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!  
ANd come join the Treehouse! Discord is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, Narwahl Lord, and RedXEagle3 are the hosts! You can find it on Spotify and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	4. Frederick's Nearly Fatal Fitness Program

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 4

Frederick's Nearly Fatal Fitness Program

Sweat pooled all over my body. Large droplets of the stuff dripped down my face, soaked into my clothes, I could even feel sweat building up in my socks. Each step had an added squelching sound that, under any other circumstances, would have made me cringe. But I was too tired to do anything except trudge through the Palace Yard.

Why am I such a filthy, sweat riddled mess, barely strong enough to keep myself upright? Well, Frederick's training is utterly insane.

Now, I never considered myself an athletic person. There was a brief time during high school where I got into decent shape, but nothing spectacular. Then the joints gave, and at that point, I gave up on trying to look like a greek god and instead focused on making a living. I was only as skinny as I was thanks to an extremely poor diet that barely met the needs of my body but always left me feeling somewhat full. Thanks to that spectacular conditioning and the rubbery muscles on my bones, I was nowhere near prepared for the physical hell Frederick put me through.

First, it was the early wake-up. And I mean, early wake up. Back home, early was seven or eight o'clock in the morning. My job started at ten o'clock, and the bus usually left the station at nine, so I always managed to get a decent night's sleep no matter what time I fell asleep. Waking up at the asscrack of dawn was a completely different story. It must have been barely four in the morning when Frederick barrelled into the barracks bunk room, flicked some lanterns to life, and woke me up.

My first day of hell started with running. God, I hate running. I was not designed to run for miles and miles on end. Each agonizing stride made my ankles ache, my knees pop, and my feet hurt. And yet, despite my very vocal complaints, Frederick made me run around the Palace multiple times before calling me back into the yard.

At that point, I was already spent. My legs felt like jelly. I could barely get any air into my lungs. Then, in the words of Frederick, "The tough part begins."

I wanted to die.

Pushups, situps, squats, lunges, another couple of laps around the palace, then begin set two of physical activities. I must have vomited at least three times before noon. An impressive feat considering I just started eating solid foods again only a couple days ago (since my side was finally fully healed thanks to some magical go-go juice, and Exalt Lissa's healing staff).

After a quick lunch, Frederick continued my physical torture, this time turning the difficulty up by adding some weight to my exercises. That weight came in the form of some "light" chainmail strapped over my shoulders and chest. God, that crap must weigh at least twenty pounds. The fact that I felt lighter on my toes after it was taken off of my body, despite my exhaustion, told me how heavy that stuff really was.

And thanks to all of that exercise, the added weight, and my physical roadblocks, I barely managed to drag myself back into the barracks around sunset.

The door to the barracks slammed shut behind me. I let out a long, loud groan before sliding down the door and falling onto my ass. Every muscle ached as I touched the stone floor.

"Bad idea." I hissed, "Really bad idea."

A hand reached out to me. My weary eyes flicked up to see Owain offering me help. I took his hand, and the teen easily hauled me up to my feet. He caught me as I nearly pitched forward due to the sudden stiffness in my legs. A jovial laugh left the blond's lips.

"First days with Sir Frederick, good times!" He smacked a hand against my back, causing me to wince, "Twas just yesterday when I underwent the physical training the good Sir demands of us. And while I do not envy you, I will say, this torment you feel subsides and shall grow easier in time."

"You'll get used to it." Severa translated as she lounged in a chair near the fireplace, a book open in her lap.

A dry laugh left my lips, "Sure. Will my getting used to it come before or after I die?"

To my great shock, I heard a small, amused snort come from Severa as I carefully sat down on the leather sofa across from the fireplace.

"Probably after." She answered, then turned a page in whatever book she was reading.

"Nay! Sam is stronger than he gives himself credit for. He has to be if he survived for so long in the wild, all alone." Owain declared.

Paws barreled down the hall from the barracks bunk room. Happy tore into the room, black tail wagging, tongue hanging out. The massive dog jumped up onto me, eliciting a loud howl of pain from my lungs as his heavy body sat down right on my stiff, sore thighs.

"Geez, Happy!" I groaned before looking at him and scratching behind his ears, "I'm happy to see you too." I finally breathed.

Owain arched an eyebrow as Happy jumped off of my lap and sat down near my feet.

"He is certainly getting used to his new life." Owain mentioned as he moved to the bar and grabbed three glasses, "Tea Severa? Sam?"

"Sure." Severa shrugged, not raising her gaze from her book.

"Why not," I grumbled as I struggled to place my feet up on the table that sat between me and the fireplace.

"Boots." Severa reminded me.

I gave her a weary look, lowered my feet, then struggled to remove the boots from my feet. Boots that were given to me upon the official announcement by Frederick and Lissa that I would join the army's ranks and train. And, seeing as how this was likely my best possible option, and how I was not given a choice in the matter, I accepted those boots. While comfortable, I still missed my old motorcycle boots that I left in my apartment back home. For some reason, the leather of those boots felt softer than the leather on the boots given to me in this world.

Owain passed me a steaming cup of tea as I finally managed to yank my boots off. My nose wrinkled as I caught the stench of my feet.

"Ugh!" Severa gagged and covered her nose with her sleeve, "Please tell me someone is drawing you a bath."

I raised an eyebrow, "Someone does that for me?"

"If others lived in the barracks, probably." Owain mentioned, "But since no one is here, I shall assist you!" Without another word, he marched down the hall to the bathroom, where a wooden tub and a brush was waiting for me.

I remained seated, content with just resting a moment before forcing my body to move again. Happy whined next to me, compelling me to scratch his ears again. A fire crackled in the fireplace, which made the room not entirely silent. One of Severa's pages turned. I pursed my lips and glanced over at the oblivious redhead.

"Where are the others today?" I asked Severa, trying to break the silence in the room.

Her eyes darted up to me, "Kjelle is probably working with the outer wall sentries today." She answered, "Brady is still grounded." I snickered a little at that, "And Cynthia is probably learning the duties of court from Exalt Lissa at the moment."

"Sounds fun," I remarked.

"She doesn't think so." Severa replied, turning another page in her book, "Bores her to tears."

I nodded—that made sense. From what little I have interacted with Cynthia, she seemed to be the type that could not sit still or be quiet. Imagining her sitting at a desk listening to a lecture from a tutor or from Exalt Lissa herself nearly made me snicker quietly to myself. For someone who could not sit still, being forced to be quiet and just listen to someone talk at you must be one of the most boring things known to man.

I glanced around the barracks again, took a sip of my tea, hummed as it warmed my aching body, then pursed my lips.

"I live alone in the barracks?"

Severa blinked, "You haven't noticed?"

I looked over at the redhead, her attention now on me instead of her book. I could see the look on her face. A look that told me she thought I must be either oblivious or stupid. To be fair, I had my moments of the former. And this appeared to be one of those moments.

"Well," I cleared my throat and brought my cup to my lips, "Until this morning, I didn't wake up super early so…"

Severa rolled her eyes, "None of the other beds around you have been used, how could you not notice that?"

_I've been not noticing a lot thanks to being thrust into a new world I barely understand! _I shouted back in my mind. But I held my tongue. A skill I have always been decent at, but have grown since arriving in Ylisse.

Severa shook her head, "Gawds, you're dense." She took a sip of her tea, "No one else lives in the barracks because everyone else has got a home in the city or in the palace."

I drew back in surprise. In the game, the barracks was where every Shepherd lived. Then again, this was the future for the game. A lot had to be different, what with the main characters having families and all. A family could not all share a barracks bunk.

"So where are they then?" I asked without thinking.

Severa gave me an annoyed look. Like my question should have an obvious answer, and she was irritated that she had to explain it to me.

"Gaius lives with his son Yarne outside of the walls." She explained, "Brady lives with his parents in the palace, along with myself, Owain, Cynthia, Lucina, Exalt Lissa, and Owain's father. Noire lives with her father at the Mage's Academy. Same with Laurent, he lives with his mother there. Gerome bunks up with either Kjelle and her mom, or Gaius and Yarne, depends on his mood. Nah stays at the church with Mr. Libra. And, to my shock and all of our misfortune, Inigo lives alone in what used to be his parents' house near the market district." She eyed me, still irritated, "Satisfied?"

I shrugged, "Could do with less venom, but hey, not my attitude."

Severa glared at me, "Why you-" She slammed her book shut, "I have half a mind to ask Sir Frederick to work you even harder tomorrow."

I sighed, "I think he already plans on doing that."

"Well, one word from me, and it can become a hell of a lot worse."

Before I could retort, the door to the barracks opened.

"Thought I'd find you here." Gaius chirped as he strolled in and jumped into his usual seat. Although, to my surprise, unlike usual, he was not alone. Behind him a half-man, half rabbit inched his way into the barracks. Each movement the creature made had a measure of jumpiness to it. Not in the bunny kind of way either, but in the fearful sort of way. As if he was afraid that every light brush of wind could kill him. Quite frankly, I could understand the feeling a little bit.

"Yarne…" Gaius sighed as the rabbit-man eyed me and Happy nervously, taking a seat as far away as possible, "Sam is just a regular guy."

"T-the d-dog isn't." Yarne stammered as he looked at Happy's panting face and gulped.

"That dog wouldn't hurt a fly." Gaius smiled over at Happy, "Isn't that right, boy?"

"He was found with a bloody muzzle, so you tell me." Severa hummed. Yarne shivered in his seat, eliciting a small chuckle from Severa, "You're too easy to spin up."

"I-I have to be!" Yarne shot back, "I-I carry my-my species existence on my shoulders. And m-most of my kind were hunted by dogs."

My eyes widened. I had forgotten about that. Before the Risen, Yarne's species, the Taguel, were hunted to near extinction. The game never delved into why or how other than dogs were used.

"Yarne, if you don't relax, you'll kill yourself with a heart attack." Gaius droned.

A strangled sound came from Yarne. Gaius massaged his eyes with his hand.

"Not like that will actually happen, Naga…" Gaius groaned a little bit, "Your mother would have a field day with you." He hissed just barely loud enough for me to hear before clearing his throat and turning to me, "So, Sammy, how'd day one with Freddy go?"

I gave him an exhausted look, causing Gaius to chuckle.

"Sounds about right." Gaius leaned back and placed his muddy, boot covered feet up on the table. This time, Severa said nothing about the boots, "How'd your day go, Sev?"

"Same as always." Severa breathed as she opened her book again and started reading, "Trained in the morning, did my chores, made sure Cynthia didn't hurt herself training… again."

"Oh?" Gaius remarked, "Did you actually go over to the Pegasi stables this time?"

Severa frowned, never taking her eyes away from the book, "No."

A disappointed expression crossed Gaius's face, "Oh… that's too bad."

"You know why I won't go over there," Severa muttered. She turned a page, paused, and turned it back over. As if she missed something on the previous page. As she moved the pages, I caught a glimpse of what she was reading.

"So, you enjoy studying Pegasus stuff?" I asked.

Her cheeks flushed red, "N-no, I-I-"

Gaius gave her a knowing grin, "You can just admit it, you know."

Severa uttered a furious growl, slammed the book closed, and jumped to her feet.

"I will not follow in my mother's footsteps!" She bellowed as Owain emerged from down the hall.

Severa stormed out of the barracks. All of our eyes, including Happy's, followed her. The door slammed shut with a massive wham, causing Yarne to jump in his seat.

"Yarne, it was just a door." Gaius sighed.

"C-can't be t-too careful."

I glanced over at the Taguel. The poor guy curled up like a ball in his chair. Legs tucked close to his chest so that they weren't on the floor where Happy could get to them. Owain sauntered over to him, gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, which only elicited a small jump from Yarne, before flopping down into Severa's empty chair. The blond glanced over at me.

"Bath's ready for you."

"Oh? Got Owain all trained up I see." Gaius chuckled, "Good job."

"He did it for me as a favor," I replied quickly. I winced as I struggled to get to my feet. Gaius watched, amused, as I staggered my way towards the barracks hallways.

"Soak in it for a bit." He advised with a shout as I drifted down the hall towards the bathroom, "I'll fetch ya a vulnerary or two. That should give you enough energy for tomorrow."

"Thanks!" I called back before entering the bathroom and shutting the door.

The first few days of my newfound life in a medieval world were interesting when it came to this part, the bathroom, that is. It turns out, Ylisstol had a primitive form of plumbing. Something similar to what I read in the history books about the Romans and Greeks way back in the day. I did not exactly know how it worked, but I was extremely grateful that I did not have to shit in a hole in the dirt.

However, the lack of a piping hot water, and a shower, bothered me. Call me privileged, but I like my hot showers. And I really missed them right about now. Back home, whenever I felt this sore, I would just stand in that stream of boiling water and let it ease the aches from my muscles and bones. But in Ylisse, the bathwater was, at best, room temperature. But, the longer I resided in this world, the more I recognized that I needed to just deal with the loss of modern luxuries.

That did not mean I had to enjoy the loss of them.

I quickly stripped out of my stinky, sweaty attire, and sank into the bathwater. To my great surprise, despite the lukewarm temperature, it felt amazing on my weary body. I let out a satisfied hum and let my head rest back against the edge of the tub. One eye glanced at the bar of soap, but I decided to hold off on scrubbing and just sit for a moment longer.

This training was going to be the death of me. I thought the first day was hard, but tomorrow was going to be even worse. I just knew it. Whenever I tried to get in shape in the past, day one hurt, but day two always hurt a lot more.

_Is this how soldiers feel when they go through basic training? _I thought to myself.

It must be. And if this is how it feels, I am so glad I did not listen to my father and enlist out of high school. My mother and stepfather were right in that regard. I was not cut out for this shit.

My heart sank as my mind drifted to my parents. What was my mom doing right now? Did she know I was gone? It was not like I made an active effort to talk to, or even hang out with my parents. One parent I loved to be around, but neither of us were social butterflies. The other, my dad, was someone I wanted to avoid if I could. Was he worried at all? A part of me thought that he might not care at all. Me being gone might just be one last thing on his mind.

I shook my head, trying my best to rid my mind of those thoughts. I knew that if I got stuck thinking these thoughts, I would break down—something I could not afford to do right now. If I broke down now, the others would know, and I would have some explaining to do. At that point, I'd be on Frederick's shitlist. A place I did not want to end up on. Plus, if I broke down now, I wouldn't be able to think about how I could get out of this situation. How could I possibly return home?  
_Do I want to go home?_

I blinked in surprise. That was the first time my brain thought of that question. Did I want to go back to my old life? Back to waking up at eight in the morning and doing my daily routine, going to work at a dead-end job that barely got the bills paid, never getting further in life despite my best efforts, and forever stuck in mediocrity.

Or did I want to stay here? Remain in medieval fantasy fun time land where death lingered around every corner. What could kill me tomorrow? Disease? A bad infection? Food Poisoning? A Risen attack? Frederick's training regimen?

My eyes drifted down to the now hardly noticeable pale line along my right side. I could still feel the pain of the Risen's rusted steel digging into my flesh. My throat bobbed, and I nodded to myself.

_I need to get back._

But how? That was the million-dollar question. Before I could even start thinking of the answers, the door to the bathroom opened. Owain sauntered in, not caring at all that I was stark naked in a bathtub.

"Owain!" I cried as I sank further into the water.

"Samwise! Sir Frederick just told me that you must hasten your cleaning because he wants you to have a full, healthy dinner. From what he said, you have barely any meat on your bones, and it is time that is fixed." Owain explained,

I remained quiet and stared back at Owain.

"Okay." I finally replied, trying my best to fend off the awkward silence. I glanced down at my bathwater, "Do you um- mind?"

Owain blinked. I noticed a slight tinge of pink wash over his cheeks, "Oh! Pardon me."

He quickly retreated out the door. Once the door clicked closed, I grabbed the bar of soap and started scrubbing. Through the thin walls of the barracks, I could hear some of the others showing up. The loudest voice of course being Cynthia as she squealed a greeting to Happy.

I stopped my scrubbing for a moment and glanced at the bathroom door, wondering if someone else was going to come barging in soon. That was when I remembered another missing luxury that I had back home.

_I miss locked bathroom doors._

* * *

I was sucking wind. For some reason, I couldn't catch my breath. No, scratch that, I knew the reason. Well, the mixture of reasons that is. Most of which involved what I have started calling Freddy's Fatal Fitness Program, because every time I trained with the Knight I felt like I wanted to die by the end of the day.

Let's see, why am I in pain today? Was it the earlier than usual wake up? Probably. Or perhaps the five mile warm-up run followed by pulling a sled with heavy stones on it for an hour. Most likely, that was the reason. My legs felt like rubber after that fun exercise. But honestly, I think the biggest reason I was having a hard time catching my breath was because I just took one, enormous punch to the solar plexus. A punch that left me sprawled flat on my back, gasping for air, with tears in my eyes.

I heard Frederick click his tongue at me.

"You need to move quicker, Sam." He scolded before reaching out a hand.

I eyed his gloved hand, "Move quicker?" I gasped, sucked in another sharp breath, grabbed his hand, then willed my exhausted body up, "Hard to do when I can barely move."

Frederick frowned at me, "You won't have the luxury of being well-rested on the battlefield. Get used to it."

I suppressed an eye roll. If Frederick thought I would last long enough to get tired on the battlefield, then he had way too much confidence in me.

For the first time since I started training under the intense knight, he had begun to teach me to defend myself. Basic martial arts, really. Simple punches, blocks, and kicks that would serve me well if I had no other means to fend off an enemy. I failed to see how my fists would hurt an undead monster, but I figured Frederick must be working on me in baby steps. The first step was breaking my body in half with relentless physical training, and the second step must be bruising my body by easily kicking my ass every five minutes.

Frederick nodded at me, snapping me free from my thoughts.

"Hands up." He ordered as he bounced on his toes.

I gulped and weakly raised my arms. As I waited for him to come at me again, I watched him bounce up and down like a jackrabbit in armor.

_How the hell does he do it? _I thought as I watched him bounce on his toes like his armor weighed nothing at all. _Is he just that strong? How much does he work out when I'm not around? _I pressed my lips together as I retreated into my thoughts again. _What kind of juice does he drink?_

I was so engrossed in those thoughts that I failed to notice the gloved fist flying at my nose. The fist slipped past my meager guard and slammed into my face with an enormous pop.

I howled and fell backward, both hands rushing up to my nose as my vision blurred, and my eyes watered. A warm, sticky substance seeped from my nostrils. I tore one hand from my nose and saw my fingers covered in red.

"Son of a bitch!" I cried.

Frederick stood over me, blocking the sun from my bleary eyes. A long frown rested over his face.

"You don't pay attention very well, do you?" He said as he looked down at me.

"Apparently not." I hissed back, more than a little angry, "Why the fuck did you hit me so hard?"

"I hardly touched you." Frederick sighed before stepping away and taking up his spot across from me in the yard again.

I propped myself up on my elbows, "Bullshit!" I spat and wiped some blood from my nose. A sharp pain rushed through my face as the back of my hand touched my bloody nostrils, "God, did you break my nose!?"

"If I broke your nose, you wouldn't be getting up already." Frederick remarked, "Now on your feet."

I hung my head for a moment. Did he want me on my feet again? Didn't he know I was too exhausted to fight back at this point? I glanced up at the sky and saw the sun sitting directly overhead. It wasn't even noon yet.

A long groan left my lips. I gingerly pushed myself back up to my feet. For a brief second, I gave the barracks door a longing expression. Laying in the shadow of the barracks, a fly buzzing around his ears, half asleep, was Happy. The dog opened one eye to look at me with pity before closing it and drifting off to sleep once again.

_Lucky bastard._

"Sam!" Frederick snapped.

I jumped at his sharp tone.

The Knight marched up to me. I found myself looking up at his harsh eyes, scrutinizing me relentlessly. Nervous sweat mixed with regular sweat as he towered over my shaking form once again.

"Pay… attention." He breathed.

I gulped, "Y-you know, no matter how many times you say it, at this rate, it probably won't happen."

A long sigh left his lips. He shook his head and turned around. I expected him to go back to his spot across the yard from me and ready himself to beat me again. But instead, he kept walking towards the palace doors.

"Uh…" I glanced over at Happy, who now lay on his back, fast asleep, "Fred- I mean- Sir Frederick?"

He paused and glanced back at me, "It's lunchtime." He answered simply before marching into the palace.

I blinked, "Oh." I relaxed where I stood. My breath rushed out of my lungs as relief washed over me, "A break… finally."

I moved to follow Frederick. After the second step, he spun around and charged at me.

_Oh fuck!_

He buried a fist into my gut. Pain rushed over my entire body. My bowels twisted, my heart surged to my throat, all of the air in my lungs rushed free, and my eyes practically rolled into the back of my head. I let out a weak, feeble wheeze then dropped to my knees. Hard coughs wracked my body as I rested on my hands and knees.

Before I could even start recovering from the first blow, a foot slammed into my side, sending me sprawling into the dirt. Hot pain flashed in my mind as I realized that foot hit the faint scar on my right side. My eyes squeezed shut as I rolled over onto my back, breathless, and in some of the worst pain I ever felt in my life.

"Exalt Lissa told me to train you." Frederick seethed over me, with anger in his eyes I had never seen before, "I told her it would be a waste of time. Someone like you is more likely to get yourself and others killed. And those others happen to be people I care a great deal about." He jabbed a finger down at me as I writhed in the dirt, "If you don't start taking this seriously, I will not hesitate to cut you loose. Ylisstol may be free of the Risen, but someone like you will not survive one day on your own. And I won't lose any sleep if that happens."

A gurgling sound slipped from my mouth as I tried to respond, but I lacked the air to do so. Frederick scowled down at me then stormed off to the palace. As I lay in the dirt, I heard the Palace doors open then slam shut.

I stopped writhing in pain after a couple more moments. My body still ached, I could still feel Frederick's fist buried in my gut, but the pain from that punch turned into a throbbing ache instead of a sharp, stabbing pain. I can deal with an ache.

Even as the pain faded, I did not bother trying to get up. I just laid still, staring up at white puffs of clouds drifting slowly across a brilliant blue sky.

When I was a little kid, I used to do this often. Go outside, lay down in the yard, and watch the clouds go by. Maybe count the number of airplanes that passed over my head. I'd often try to see the shapes of the clouds and conjure fantastical stories about those shapes. A cloud shaped like a triangle was a spaceship fighting an evil empire. A cloud that shot across the sky like an arrow was a rocket rushing up to the moon. If I saw one that looked like head and shoulders, I'd pretend it was a great giant staring down at me.

As an adult, I couldn't see those stories anymore. I couldn't live those stories anymore like I did as a kid. Everything became so serious and high stakes. Even something as simple as laying down and watching the clouds was not tolerated. And I was certain if Frederick came back out here and saw me still on my back, staring blankly at the sky, he would have my hide.

But at this point, I did not care. A nagging voice in the back of my mind replayed what he said to me over and over again, like some sick loop.

"Training me is a waste of time." I breathed.

He probably wasn't wrong. It has been over a week since I first recovered, and I had made precisely zero progress since starting my training under Sir Frederick the Intense. A week of hard exercise meant to strengthen my body and build me into a warrior that could help the Shepherds fend off the Risen horde.

_Some warrior I'm turning out to be._

Who am I kidding? Me, a warrior? Give me a break. I am a glorified messenger back home. A guy whose job was to knock on doors and see if someone would give me their phone number so the company I worked for could quote them on the cost of covering their yard in shit. Because shit makes the grass grow, or something like that. The closest I have ever been to a warrior in my old life was in seventh grade on a football field, and I got squashed. Ever since then, I knew my place was not in any sort of violence, and I was fine with that.

Until I was transported to a world built upon violence and desperation. Now, I had two options, according to Frederick: fight or die.

I shielded my eyes from the sun as its bright rays hit me.

_I'm no fighter._

Pants filled my ears. I blinked as Happy stooped over me, shielding me from the bright sun. His warm tongue licked at my face, causing me to utter a weak laugh.

"At least I got you to cheer me up." I breathed, scratching the underside of his chin.

"Gawds." My eyes shot wide open, "You are pathetic to look at."

I raised my head ever so slightly. Severa stood across from me where Frederick usually stood; arms crossed, the usual frown on her pale lips, a look of both annoyance and… was that pity I saw in her eyes?

_Honestly, I think even a Risen would pity me._

The redhead rolled her eyes and stormed up to me. Before I could say anything, she reached down and yanked me up by the front of my shirt.

"Get up already." She huffed. I quickly found my balance as she took a step back, "You can't just let Frederick beat you down like that."

"Pretty sure I can," I muttered back, rolling one shoulder as I felt it stiffen up.

Severa shook her head, "No, you can't. Because if you do, he will only be harder on you. And it will get worse until you break entirely, in which case…" She took a breath and lowered her voice, "You'll probably be sent away. Well, not away, away. But into the general populace."

I eyed Severa as she spoke. Some of her usual combativeness had faded as she explained the seriousness of my situation.

"Damn," I said with a slight chuckle, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you actually do care about me."

Her cheeks flushed, "Well, I- no- I don't!" She shook her head, "But you saved my life. I thought repaying that deed with a dog wash was enough. But then I thought about it, and you were right, my life is not worth a dog wash." She flipped one of her long, red pigtails back over her shoulder, "I'm worth a lot more than that."

I raised an eyebrow, "Humble much?"

"Shut up!" She shouted at me.

But unlike Frederick, it did not have the desired effect on me that she hoped for. I simply folded my arms and looked at her, mildly amused.

"You do realize I'm taller than you, right? Hard to be intimidated by-"

Her fist slammed into my gut. I wheezed and staggered a few steps back.

"Goddammit!" I hissed, "Always the fucking gut!"

She stormed back up to me as I remained doubled over. A triumphant smirk rested on her lips.

"Now, I'm taller."

"Ha ha." I wheezed back, "Did you just come over here to kick me while I'm down. Honestly, I might just leave before Frederick can break me just to save him the trouble."

"No, you won't!" Severa snapped back. She raised her hands in a guard in front of her head, "Get ready."

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

One of her fists snapped out and tagged me on the chin, snapping my head back and nearly sending me flat on my ass again. I bit back a curse before glaring at her furiously. She flashed me a smirk and stood at the ready across from me.

"Not gonna let a little girl beat you up now, are you?" She taunted.

Something churned inside of me. Competitiveness I thought long gone, lost to the days of little league. For some reason, Severa's challenge both infuriated me, and caused some excitement to build up inside of me.

I recalled some days in my earlier childhood, back when my parents were still together, and my father took an active role in my life. Back then, he wanted me to learn Karate. So until I was eight, he took me to train in a karate class. Kempo to be exact. And while I never got very far, I still recalled bits and pieces. Not enough to match up against any trained fighter. But possibly enough to catch one by surprise.

I changed my stance to a simple, side stance. My left hand raised to guard my face, my right hand low, near my waist, ready to strike. Just like I remembered doing it as an eight year old. I got onto my toes, ignoring the sharp pain in my calves as I lightly bounced up and down. Severa gave me an intrigued look before dancing around me.

"Different." She muttered, "Let's see what you got."

She did not strike, which puzzled me. Instead, she kept bouncing in circles around me while I remained rooted in the same spot. Severa rolled her eyes.

"I said, let's see what you got." She huffed, "Gawds, are you really that slow?"

My right leg snapped out in a roundhouse kick that surprised even me. Severa was certainly caught off guard as the top of my foot slammed into her left shoulder. There was not as much force behind the kick as I would have liked, but it was enough to stagger the redhead moving around me.

_What do you know, Dad's lessons are still there. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing._

Severa winced and rolled her shoulder, "Alright… that's… alright."

I smiled triumphantly.

_Try taunting me now!_

A fist smacked into my jaw. Stars danced in my eyes, and I fell backward. My head swam as I found myself on my back once again. A haughty laugh came from Severa as she swept up to me and stood over me, a taunting smirk on her lips.

"I'm starting to think you enjoy being on the ground."

I snarled and moved to get up, only for her boot to shove me back down.

"Nope, I won." She said before stepping away from me.

I let my head fall back. A long groan came from my lips. As I struggled to get up, I noticed her dust off some dirt from the shoulder I managed to kick. She shook her head at me when I finally got to my feet, staggered to the side, then found my footing.

"Gawds, you really are bad at this."

Severa took a breath and started walking away to the palace. My eyes followed her, and to my shock, I also saw Frederick standing outside of the doors, watching me. Severa paused halfway to the doors. I saw a wince flash over her face. She rolled her shoulders and muttered something I barely heard over the soft breeze.

"Not a bad kick."

I remained completely silent as she moved past Frederick and stepped into the palace. Once she was gone, Frederick calmly descended the white, stone steps and moved back into the yard. I expected him to start scolding me again. I could already hear it.

"_Why didn't you follow me in to eat lunch?"_

"_You need to keep your strength up if you even hope to survive my training." _

"_You let Severa beat you so easily, just get out of my sight already."_

I braced for the biting words. Frederick stood silent in front of me. I flinched as one of his arms moved, then relaxed as I noticed an uneaten sandwich in his hand.

With a slight amount of hesitation, I took the sandwich.

"Ham or turkey?" I asked.

Frederick sniffed, "Roast beef."

A smile rushed over my face.

"Oh…" I took a large bite and savored the delicious meat. Happy took a seat beside me, hoping that I would accidentally drop a scrap for him to devour. I took another large bite and gave Frederick a nervous smile.

"That's even better."

**And chapter! This story is plain old fashioned fun to write! It's also giving me one heck of a challenge that I both wanted but also was not fully ready for. That being said, I'm really having fun doing this story so far. I hope you guys are enjoying it just as much as I am. With that said, Sam has started training with Frederick. We'll see how long he actually manages to last. **

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! We have cookies! Discord is:** **9XG3U7a**

**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, Narwhal Lord, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts! You can find it on Spotify, and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	5. Meeting the Merchant

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 5

Meeting the Merchant

Steel whistled in the air. My eyes went wide, and I ducked as fast as I could underneath Frederick's swipe. His blunted training blade cut a hideous arc over my head. I could feel the metal hiss over me, trimming the hairs on the top of my head. A whimper left my lungs. Before I could even recover from the first attack, Frederick bashed me back with his left forearm.

"Guard up!" He barked.

Easier said than done. Two weeks into Frederick's training, and for the first time in my entire life, I was using a sword. Each movement I made with this hunk of metal was clumsy, awkward, and slow. Hesitation filled each thought as I did my best to both defend myself from Frederick's relentless attacks and not screw up in the process. And by screw up, I mean tripping over my own two feet as I backpedaled away from a furious assault.

I raised my blade with both hands just in time to catch a savage slash at my side. My arms jostled, my bones creaked, and my muscles groaned and buzzed. I lost feeling in my fingers as vibrations ran down the blade and into the leather-bound handle. Like when a baseball hits too close to the hands on a bat. The sudden sensation and loss of feeling in my palms nearly caused me to drop the heavy blade into the dirt.

I cursed and took several panicked steps back. Frederick did not pursue. He simply sighed and let his sword fall to his side.

"You're still struggling." He muttered.

I huffed, "Well, of course I am!" I winced as I tried to raise my sword to eye level, then gave up as my arms failed to do so, "I've never used one of these before in my life."

"And because of that, you are afraid of the weapon."

I rolled my eyes, "Gee, state the obvious, why don't you." Frederick frowned at me, "Of course I'm afraid of it."

"It can't hurt you when it's blunted." Frederick pointed out in a matter of fact tone.

"Your definition of hurt and my definition of that word are two very different things." I huffed as I dropped the sword to the ground and let out a long groan, grateful the strain on my arms had finally gone away. My hands still buzzed from when the two blades collided. I flexed my fingers open then closed, trying to restore feeling to them.

_Some batting gloves would be nice._

Frederick frowned and leaned against his sword as he kept the tip planted in the dirt.

"You need to toughen up." He said bluntly.

"No shit," I grunted back.

I exhaled and bent down to pick the sword up. I never knew these things could be so damn heavy. After about three or four swings, my arms started shaking. Now it took every ounce of strength I had just to pick the damn thing up. It also didn't help that I was already exhausted from the Fatal Fitness Program routine earlier in the day. But I doubted I would have fared much better at swordplay if I was fresh compared to how I feel now.

I let out a weary sigh, bent my knees slightly, and held the sword up as much as I could with both hands. I could already feel my arms shaking and my shoulders tightening up as I stood across from Frederick. The Knight remained in his relaxed position, hands resting on the pommel of his blade as he stood across from me.

"What's wrong now?" I asked.

Frederick clicked his tongue, "You can barely hold that sword up."

"Well of course Sammy can barely hold the thing up."

Both Frederick and I glanced over to the palace gates. Gaius sauntered in. As usual, a lollipop stick dangled from one corner of his mouth. He quickly studied what we were doing before popping the lollipop free and directing it at me.

"Feels heavy?" He asked me.

"Uh… yeah?"

"What do you want, Gaius?" Frederick hummed as he yanked his sword free from the dirt and easily hefted in with one hand.

Gaius shrugged, "Nothing really. Yarne is off helping Specs gather some plants and whatnot. Kid's got a nose for that sorta thing. So, I got bored at home and decided to see what the hell you all were up to here." He slipped his lollipop back into his mouth, "And… from what I can see, Freddy, you're taking a bad approach to all of this."

Frederick drew back in surprise, "I am taking a bad approach?"

"Yeah, you are." Gaius walked up to Frederick and patted his armored chest, "Don't sweat it so much big guy, we all make mistakes."

I frowned, "Are you suggesting training me is a mistake." I heavy breath left my lips, "Honestly, you might be right." I muttered under my breath.

"You're wrong too." Gaius nodded at me. He strode up to me and held out a hand, "Sword." He commanded.

I gave him a confused look then handed him my blade. The orange-haired thief gripped the sword and twisted it over in his hand. He wrapped his other hand around it and held it out in front of his face for a moment.

"Shit, Freddy, do you think Sammy has as much muscle as you?" Gaius asked, an amused smirk on his lips. He handed me the blade back. I tried to grab it and hold it upright like he did, but the point wavered and fell to the dirt, "He's nearly as small as I am. And, while I've got the strength to handle that weapon, he sure as hell doesn't. I mean," He grabbed my right arm and held it up against my will, "Look at this." He smacked a hand against my arm, eliciting a hiss as the blow stung, "Not a shred of meat."

"That is what I am trying to fix."

Gaius frowned in return, "Sammy, have you ever had muscles in your life?"

I shook my head.

"He ain't built for this, Freddy." Gaius stated, "And well, how do I put this in a way you can understand?" He tapped his chin for a moment then cleared his throat, "You can't make baker's chocolate taste like milk chocolate through sheer will and desire."

Frederick arched an eyebrow, "It sounds to me like you are trying to explain this concept to yourself." He sighed, "But I think I see what you are getting at. Sam is not meant to be a man-at-arms. Is that what you are saying?"

"Right!" Gaius nodded.

"Then what do you think he would do well at?" Frederick asked, sheathing his sword and folding his arms afterward.

Gaius hummed to himself. He paced back and forth in front of me for a moment. Every so often, his eyes darted up to look at me. I could see him muttering something under his breath as he rubbed his chin and pondered Frederick's question. He suddenly paused in his pacing and snapped his fingers.

"Let me work with him for a little bit," Gaius suggested.

"Huh!?" I uttered.

Frederick uttered a heavy sigh and shook his head, "I don't think that is a good idea."

"Oh, why not?" Gaius asked with a smile, "Look; you're built like a house, Sammy here is built like me, tiny and inconspicuous."

"Because you are the definition of inconspicuous." I deadpanned.

"Sammy," Gaius popped his lollipop free and wagged it at me, "I can be very inconspicuous when I want to be. Don't doubt the master thief." He sniffed to himself, "I'm still the only one that has ever successfully stolen from Anna."

"She still caught you." Frederick pointed out.

"After you and Bubbles ratted on me!" Gaius shot back. Before he could continue, a slight pang of melancholy hit him. He let out a quiet laugh and shook his head, "That memory still makes me laugh. Anna really did a number on me for that stunt. I think I still have some bruises." He chuckled quietly once more before clearing his throat, "Back to what I was getting to. I'll try to teach him a little bit. You always complain about how you don't have a lot of people that can move through the wild quickly and quietly. Other than Anna and me, at least." He slapped my shoulder and gave it a shake, "I see Sammy as a prime candidate for a scout role in our little band."

"Scout!?" I cried.

Frederick hummed to himself. He thought for a moment, one hand stroking his chin as he considered Gaius's reasoning.

"If this doesn't work," Frederick began, "I'm sending him to Libra once he gets back and seeing if Sam might be better suited as a healer."

I paled a little bit. A healer? Sounds peaceful and all, but that meant bloody wounds. And, if my experience dissecting dead things in science class were anything to go by, that would not go very well.

"It'll work." Gaius smiled back. He took the sword from my hand and gave it back to Frederick, "C'mon Sammy, we're gonna get you a weapon more suited for your build."

"You're taking him to Anna?" Frederick asked, surprised.

Gaius paused as he strode towards the gate, "Well yeah. Who else would I take him to for weapons and stuff? Besides, she's gonna want to meet the new recruit." He glanced over his shoulder at me, "Stop standing there and c'mon already." He started walking away again, "We're burning daylight."

I rushed off after him.

* * *

In all of the weeks I had dwelled within the Exalt's Palace and the Shepherd's Barracks, I had never wandered beyond the white walls. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to. None of the other Shepherds that lived within the confines of the Palace Walls seemed to go beyond them, except for those that actually lived in the main city.

And what a city it was, by medieval standards at least. In high school, when I was learning about medieval times, I always pictured those cities to be filthy, mud-soaked places. Huts lined the streets, shit ran through the gutters, and the people were covered in filth. Those were the images that filled my head whenever I thought of castles, villages, kings, queens, and knights.

Ylisstol, by contrast, was remarkably clean. The streets were not muddy, pothole riddled messes. They were paved stone roads that looked to have been white years ago, before being worn down by horses, wagons, and foot traffic. Most of the houses around the main palace area were large, even by modern standards. They were made of mostly white stone and wood. Very impressive to look at. As I followed Gaius further into the city, the size of the houses shrank. The lots became even more crowded. There were less royal looking buildings and more common homes with simple wood frames and walls. Still surprisingly clean and well kept, but not as awe-inspiring as the area surrounding the palace.

"Almost to the markets." Gaius chirped ahead of me as I followed him.

The crowds grew in size and density. With the influx of people, came a lot of noise. Mostly chatter and general city hum that I was not used to at all. Appleton was a modest town both by modern standards and by Ylisstol standards. There were so many people filling the streets and alleys around me, I had a feeling Times Square would be jealous. To my surprise, despite the clean streets and buildings, many of the citizens appeared haggard and weary.

"Refugees." Gaius nodded at a small group sitting in the shadow of a bakery, "Most of them are Plegian. Some are from Western Regna Ferox."

I raised an eyebrow. Plegian and Feroxi refugees in Ylisstol? That did not line up with events in-game. Plegians would rather be dead than reside in the capital of their mortal enemy. And I always viewed the Feroxi as far too wild a people to be confined to a shining city like this.

"Not a whole lot of food to go around as it is." Gaius muttered as we brushed by a group of Ylissean guards roaming through the crowds, "And the number of people fleeing here grows by the day. Which is not a good sign."

I frowned, "Why is that?"

Gaius glanced back at me, "Well, it means the war is not going well." He kept his voice low as he spoke, "I suppose I can tell you a little bit of what's going on. You're technically one of us now, after all. Though Freddy might disapprove, I see no sense in keeping you in the dark." He paused in his walk and stopped to look through the window of a candy shop. He licked his lips as a chocolatier placed a small rack of fresh candies in the window, "Are you familiar with the Divine Dragon, Sammy?"

I am, but I needed to keep up the amnesia charade. So instead of nodding my head, I shook it.

"I don't think so," I muttered back.

Gaius eyed me, "Oh right, amnesia. Forgot about that. Well, Naga is the Divine Dragon. She's like a benevolent god to us little, weak humans. Or something along those lines. Don't tell Tiki I said that if ya ever meet her. She disagrees with that summary. Anyways, Naga is the good one. But, Naga is also a bit of an… absentee mom." Gaius sucked in a sharp breath as lollipops were placed in the window, "Oh, now they're just teasing me."

"Absentee mom?" I asked, trying to get the thief back on topic.

Gaius blinked and cleared his throat, "Oh right, well, while Naga has been gone, or dead, whichever it is, the Fell Dragon, Grima, has come back." I gulped, and Gaius nodded, "I see you understand that terminology just fine. The Fell Dragon is very, very bad. The Risen, those monsters that nearly killed you, are his creations. And he is itching to wipe out all of us little humans and reshape the world into his image."

Gaius reluctantly tore his gaze away from the candy shop window and started strolling down the road again towards the increasingly crowded market district.

"When he awakened, Grima destroyed Plegia. Any Plegians lucky enough to survive, and unlucky enough to refuse to join Grima, fled to Themis. Then Grima launched an all-out assault on Ylisse, starting with Themis." Gaius took a breath as he spoke. A glaze came over his eyes as he relived a terrible event in his mind, "Lost a lot of good people in that siege. Tiki entered the war at that point and managed to push Grima back, but barely. As a result, Grima decided to kill us off slowly instead. He's got various groups of Risen and human allies raiding the Ylissean countryside, and his main horde is in Regna Ferox, way up north, trying to destroy those feisty bastards."

I furrowed my brow—none of this made sense to me. Then again, the game never really delved into what happened in the future. There were vague glimpses and even vaguer explanations of what occurred. I always thought Grima quickly destroyed the world. I did not consider the possibility that he led a military campaign against the Feroxi before deciding to destroy the Ylisseans.

"Why is he focusing on Regna Ferox and not us?" I asked as we pushed our way into the main market square, where various tents and stalls were set up. Merchants called out their wares to the crowds milling through the square, "Aren't we a bigger threat?"

Gaius nodded, "Yeah, we technically are since Naga's blessed bloodline rules us. But for some reason, Grima is very focused on Ferox. We're still trying to figure out why. But while we try to figure that out, Princess Lucina and some of the others went up north to aid Khan Flavia against the Risen Horde." He grimaced as a group of Feroxi refugees trudged by us, "And judging by the influx in Feroxi refugees, it is not going well up there."

Before I could ask any more questions, Gaius let out a happy sound.

"There she is!"

My eyes followed his hand towards a tent at the far end of the square. A horse-drawn, canvas topped wagon sat behind the tent. The inside of the tent was littered with crates, both opened and closed. Each crate was filled to the brim with various goods. A table sat in front of the tent. A multitude of objects sat on the table, everything from a few jars of soup to swords, axes, and bows.

Behind that table stood a red-haired woman. She wore what looked like a jester's outfit, a patchwork of yellows and browns, with a frilly collar that made her stand out from all of the other merchants in the area. Her dark red hair was held back in a high ponytail. A playful, welcoming smile adorned her lips as she tried to sell her wares to the passing crowds.

As Gaius and I approached, the woman reached under the table and struggled to lift a massive bronze ax from the ground.

"Weapons and other wares! Come and get em! Like this ax!" Anna let the ax lean briefly against the table. Once it touched the table, the head to the ax shuddered and fell off, hitting the table with a heavy thunk, "Some of it mildly used!"

"Red!" Gaius cried, spreading his arms out wide.

Anna's welcoming smile raced away. In a flash, a dagger appeared in her hand and burrowed its way into the wooden table, stopping Gaius in his tracks.

"The last time you visited me, you stole-"

Gaius raised a finger, "I didn't steal, I borrowed."

"Without asking for permission." Anna snarled back.

"To be fair, you weren't supposed to miss it." Gaius defended, a nervous sweat building up on his brow.

Anna's fingers danced along the pommel of the dagger, "I miss anything that is mine that I could have sold." She leaned over the table, teeth clenched tight as she spoke, "Including that certain _thing, _Gaius. As well as the cans of soup you snatched as well!"

Gaius pursed his lips, "Well, um… my past transgressions are not the focus of today."

"I'm going to make them the focus of-"

"Sammy! Get up here already!" Gaius yanked me by the arm to his side. Anna's eyes darted to me, never losing the intense, wary glare she had, "Red," Gaius patted my chest, "This is Sammy. He's-"

"I heard already, Maribelle told me." Anna leaned against the table, yanked the dagger from the wood, and twirled the sharp dagger in her right hand as she rested her head on her left. Her eyes lingered on me, "You're the kid stupid enough to jump in front of an ax, huh?"

I frowned, "I wouldn't call it my brightest moment, but not stupi-"

"Anything that can result in your death is a stupid decision." Anna interrupted, "Lesson one in this place. Learn it." She glanced over at Gaius, "Why is he here?"

Gaius cleared his throat, "Well, um, Sammy is one of the Shepherds now, thanks to his actions a few weeks ago. Freddy tried training him and it hasn't gone very well."

"Really?" Anna arched an eyebrow, "I couldn't have guessed, what with the lack of any muscle and general look of fear in his eyes."

My eyes widened.

"Like that." Anna finished.

"And because it is not going very well, I"m taking a crack at it." Gaius pressed his lips into a thin line and waited for Anna's response.

She laughed. It was a quiet chuckle at first. Then her head bowed, her shoulders shuddered, and her quiet chuckle erupted into a loud cackle that caused several people in the market square to paused and glanced in her direction. Anna let her forehead pressed down against the table as she kept laughing.

"Um…" Gaius smacked his lips together, "Not exactly the reaction I was expecting."

"Oh really?" Anna raised her head, still chuckling, "What were you expecting exactly? Geez, Gaius, the thought of you teaching someone is almost as laughable as it is terrifying." She glanced over at me, "Kid, run while you can. Go back to Frederick, you'll last longer that way."

"I am perfectly capable of molding Sammy into the scout we need!" Gaius cried, stamping a foot.

Anna's laughter died, "Scout?" She narrowed her gaze at Gaius, "I thought you were just going to train him to fight?"

Gaius shook his head, "He ain't a fighter. Not yet, at least. And he probably will never be the kind of fighter Freddy wants. But he's definitely built to be a fighter like you and me."

Anna's jaw worked back and forth. She flicked her eyes over to me. Her hand stopped twirling the dagger.

"Kid, Sam, right?" I nodded back as she spoke, "Do you have any idea what you would be getting into if you agreed to this?"

I glanced back and forth between her and Gaius. I honestly had no idea what was going on in the slightest. But that's par for the course in my life. Ninety percent of the time, I had no idea what was going on around me. The other ten percent were just little moments where I was laser-focused on a task that either terrified me, or I was very interested in. Although I did not recall Gaius actually going in-depth on what he wanted to train me in. He wanted me to be a scout. But what exactly did that entail?

"Not really," I answered, failing to hide my sudden nervousness and uncertainty.

Anna frowned, "When he says 'scout', what Gaius actually means is that he is going to teach you how to move so far behind enemy lines that you will not see anything other than a shambling corpse for weeks at a time. Or if you're lucky, you'll run into a gang of bandits or dark mages. Scout, in this army, is not going a day ahead of the army. Not anymore at least. Scout, is going into Grima's backyard and finding out what the bastard is planning." she nodded at Gaius, "He and I are the two best at it. Because he's sneaky as all hell, and I'm a merchant. Merchants get a bit of a free pass when it comes to the bandits and Grima's dark mages. They like to buy stuff off of me."

"I wouldn't advertise that so loudly, Anna." Gaius cringed.

Anna let out a haughty sound, "I dare one of these civilians to try something on me. I've dealt with far deadlier than a mob of hungry refugees." She coughed into her hand and cleared her throat, "Do you get it now, Sam? You aren't going to be scouting around a campsite; you're going to be what might be the most dangerous role in our army."

I must have blanched quite a bit because Anna immediately shook her head and clicked her tongue.

"See?" She nodded in my direction, "He doesn't have the guts to do what we do."

"Guts can be made." Gaius replied, "Need I remind you of your early days when the last thing you wanted to do was move behind enemy lines and report back information."

Anna scowled in return, "The coin I get from the Exalt more than makes up for the danger, you know that. If Lissa did not fill my pockets the way she does, I'd have already gotten on a boat and sailed to the other side of the world. Away from this mess in Archanea." She huffed and folded her arms, studying me for a moment, "Why the hell do you think he can do well doing what we do, Gaius?"

"Because he's a survivor." Gaius said firmly, "Sammy was all alone in the wild until Freddy and the others found him. And he was not only alive but mostly unscathed, until he saved Severa that is."

Anna looked unimpressed. Gaius sighed and leaned closer to her table.

"Look, I'm going to teach him, whether you like it or not." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small sack filled with gold coins. He tossed the sack onto the table. Anna's eyes shimmered for a brief second before hardening once again, "That should be enough to get him outfitted."

"Outfitted?" I asked.

"Yeah, outfitted." Gaius sniffed and glanced back in the direction we came, towards the candy shop, "While you two are doing that, I'm going to restock my stash."

I paled as he started to walk away, "G-Gaius, wait I-"

I trailed off as he disappeared into the crowd.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

The sound of coins clinking together behind me drew my attention. I spun around and looked at Anna once again. She was busy counting the coins Gaius placed in front of her. Once she finished counting, she nodded and placed them in a chest inside of her tent.

"Damn thief may be a bit of an idiot, but he at least knows how to count." Anna huffed, "Outfitted huh?" She eyed me then nodded for me to follow her back into her small tent.

I hesitated, then followed her into the tent.

It was a lot more spacious than I initially thought. The inside of Anna's tent was still cramped with goods and crates, but there was enough room for two people to meander around a few steps. Once inside, Anna spun around and looked me up and down.

"Well, if you're going to be one of us, you need light armor." She put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment, "Where did I put the leather?"

She brushed by me and rummaged through several crates to my right. I ducked as stuff started sailing through the air from the crate. A dagger nearly took my ear off, a helm missed my nose by mere inches, and a quiver filled with arrows whistled over my head then crashed into a box that squawked for some reason.

"Ignore the chicken." Anna mumbled before gasping and reaching down into a crate, "Here we are!"

She yanked out a simple, black leather jerkin. Both of her hands held it up in front of her face for a moment.

"That should be the right size. If not, I'll send it over to Noire and Henry. Noire just loves tailoring stuff for me." Anna spun back around and pressed the jerking to my chest. A small whistle left her lips, "Actually, you may just be able to grow into it. Put it on."

I just barely managed to catch the thin leather jerkin that passed for armor as Anna let go of it. One brief glance at the various strings and buttons made my brain scramble. How the hell do I get this thing on exactly? Do I pull it over my head? Undo the laces and wrap it around my body? Step into it?

Anna hummed in front of me as she rummaged through another crate. She paused and looked beneath her arm at me.

"Well?"

I gulped, and my cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"I um… don't know how."

Anna rolled her eyes, "Of course you don't." She returned to me and snatched the jerkin from my hands. Without any effort at all, she undid the laces, "Arms out." She instructed.

I raised my arms. She placed the jerkin over my body like a vest, then redid the laces. I gasped as she tightened them to the point where the leather felt like it was squeezing my ribs.

"You want it tight," Anna explained to me when she noticed my obvious discomfort. She put her finger to her chin again and hummed to herself, "Yeah, it'll do. You can take it off now. If you want it adjusted, just take it to Noire."

"Um, ok?" I fiddled with the laces.

"Now, next up." Anna returned to the crate, reached inside, and yanked out a black, hooded cloak. She tossed it over to me. I caught it and held it up, mildly confused, "That there is your life." Anna explained to me, "It can hide you from the Risen, give you shelter in the rain, it can even protect you from the sun." A small smile flashed over her lips, "It's also damn cool to wear sometimes. But black is not my color, so you can have that one."

"Ok?"

She cracked her knuckles and turned away from the crate. A loud gulp rang out from my throat as she moved towards a weapons rack. I followed her hand as she ran a finger along various swords, axes, and lances.

"Do you know how to use a sword?" She asked me, back turned as I continued to fumble with the jerkin.

"If I'm here instead of with Frederick, what does that tell you?" I snarked back.

Anna whipped her head around. I half expected a scolding. Instead, she gave me a wry smirk.

"So longswords are out." She smirked at me then moved away from the rack filled with large swords, the kind Frederick tried teaching me to use, "Broadswords too." She paused my a rack of short little swords, about the length of a machete actually, "Shortsword?" She asked me.

I shrugged, "Never used one before."

"That'll change. But… for just starting out, not the best idea." She moved down the rack, past a pair of battleaxes, to a small, hand ax. She nodded, grabbed a steel hand ax, then held it out to me, "This should be a good primary for you. Can use it for self-defense or survival. In the situations you'll be in, you'll need it."

I gulped as my fingers gingerly wrapped around the ax's wooden shaft. To my surprise, it did not feel as heavy as I thought it would. It almost felt like a hatchet in my hands (yes I have held one of those before. I've been around enough tool sheds to know what a hatchet looks and feels like). But unlike a hatchet, the blade on this ax was wickedly sharp. I dared not bring my finger along the edge.

Knives and daggers clattered in a crate beside the weapons rack. Anna carefully rummaged through it before withdrawing one large, steel dagger and one small steel knife. She tossed both up into the air then caught them with practiced ease.

"One for killing things closeby." She gestured with the large dagger, held it out to me, and waited for me to grab it. Nervously I took the sharp weapon from her hand. She then gestured with the small knife, "One for killing things far away."

I arched an eyebrow as I took the small knife, "A throwing knife?"

"I'll give you more when you get good at using them." Anna brushed her hands and placed them at her hips. She exhaled and nodded, "That should do you for now. If you ever go out on a mission, I'll supply you with any provisions you may need. Like vulneraries, bandages, water and rations, the usual."

"Missions!?" I exclaimed.

Anna chuckled, "Yeah. How else are you going to learn?"

I swallowed hard. Suddenly, being around people with bloody wounds did not sound so bad. Maybe I should petition Frederick to take me away from Gaius. He mentioned something about putting me with Libra and the healers. Maybe I'd be good at that. Being away from all of the danger sounded rather nice.

Anna's smile wavered a bit as she caught the look sickly look on my face.

"No puking in my shop." She said quickly, wagging a finger at me, "And if you do, you're cleaning it up."

"I-I'm not sick just," I took a deep breath and looked down at the weapons and clothes cradled in my arms, "scared," I admitted.

Anna's smile faded entirely.

"Yeah? Well…" She took a heavy breath, "We all feel that way nowadays." I gave her a surprised look as she busied herself putting stuff back in their respective crates, "You're just going to have to man up and push through it."

I snorted to myself. Man up, how many times have I heard that one in my life? That was my father's favorite phrase whenever he talked to me. And my stepfather felt sort of the same way, though he managed to make his criticism far more constructive than my father's. I swallowed and stared down at the stuff in my arms.

I was suddenly a soldier. Not only a soldier, but apparently one that was going to be doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the entire army. Scouting behind enemy lines, Grima's lines no less… God, what have I gotten myself into? How the hell do I get out of this? For the life of me, I could not think of a solution. It was as if my brain decided to shut off even as the full weight of what I was about to do slammed into me.

"Hey, Sam."

Anna's voice ripped me from my thoughts. One of her hands gently patted my shoulder.

"Look, I can be a little hard on people, so… don't worry so much. I'm sure you'll do fine. If you survived for this long alone, then you'll go far under Gaius. If anyone can teach you to be stealthy, it's him." She huffed, "Loathe as I am to admit it."

A laugh left my throat, easing the tension in my gut.

"What exactly did he steal anyways?" I asked as I threw my new jerkin and cloak over my shoulder. Thankful that I was given a way to change the topic and distract myself from the terror I was currently feeling.

Anna's cheeks reddened, "N-nothing important."

"Ah…" I replied with a nod, "Sounds rather important."

"Nothing." Anna jabbed a finger at me, "Important."

I nodded, "Okay, nothing important."

Anna huffed, "Good, you understand then." She spun around and started to move back to her table, where some customers were waiting. As she walked away, a thought hit me. One that caused a mischievous smirk to cross my lips.

"So was it your diary or-"

I knew I had made a correct guess when I saw the broken ax head flying at my face.

**And chapter! Managed to just barely get this one done before the deadline. Traveling tends to derail schedules like that. Was out of town for a week visiting family for Thanksgiving and managed to get zero writing done during that time. But I still got this one done, and it was a fun one to write! Not much happened, although we are now seeing a role being carved out for Sam. And he got to meet Anna, which is always fun. **

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!  
Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Narwhal Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts! You can find it on Spotify and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	6. Learning to Fight Dirty

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 6

Learning to Fight Dirty

Training under Gaius was interesting, to say the least. I did not expect him to continue Frederick's tradition of early morning wake up calls. Yet, surprisingly, he arrived every morning, just before dawn, as the inky darkness turned pink, to shake me from my restful slumber. After how long I had been doing this, my body was finally starting to get used to early rises. But I was still not very happy about it.

Unlike Frederick, Gaius not only tolerated my complaining, but he also tended to laugh at it. Which only served frustrated me a little bit, because it was his way of saying he did not give a crap about how tired I felt. Somehow, his quiet laughter and amused smile were far more irritating in the morning that Frederick's stoic silence. Maybe it was just me being grouchy. I never called myself a morning person, after all.

The other aspects of Gaius's training involved more physical stuff. Frederick tried to mold me into another warrior. Another grunt to man the front lines, meant to hold a shield and a sword. Gaius recognized that as a wrong approach and instead tailored physical training away from strength and towards speed and agility. Instead of running several laps around the palace, it was only one (still a long distance, but after how much Frederick made me run, it felt much easier), followed by wind sprints across the training yard (which he also participated in, and consistently mocked me for my slow speed). He would also join in on the many drills he introduced to get me to move quicker and lighter on my feet. A lot of them reminded me of old sports drills I used to do when I was younger. The familiarity of it all brought some comfort, and Gaius joining in on the exercises made it feel more like a competition than an instruction.

The biggest thing he was attempting to instill in me was how to move lightly on my feet and how to take advantage of silence. It was far more cerebral than physical, which surprised me. So much of that training involved identifying where the best spot to place a step was, whether or not a certain material on the ground would make a noise or not. It also involved controlling my own emotions and making sure my breathing did not quicken. Quick breaths are loud, as Gaius would say. Loud gets a scout killed. Something I was not eager to have happen to me twice.

While difficult to learn, I found myself progressing much quicker in this training than Frederick's. Especially when it came to weapons training. Mostly because instead of just one grouchy teacher, I had Gaius and an increasingly irritable Anna. Every day I sparred against one of them, with both fists and blade. And every day, I got my ass kicked. Each day I hoped to go up against Gaius; at least he pulled his punches. Anna, on the other hand… well… there is a reason why my lip is bleeding at the moment.

I spat blood and dirt into the dirt below me as I rested on one knee. My face scrunched up in pain as I felt more sharp pain lance through my jaw.

"Get up already," Anna said sharply.

I raised my gaze. She paced to and fro in front of me, impatient as ever. She always made it a point to bring up to both Gaius and me that she needed to be at her shop, selling merchandise, and making what meager gold she still could. Gaius would remind her that she was a better fighter than him and that I needed the best instruction. Some days, she'd blow him off and leave early. But on days like today, when the crowds in the market were particularly thick, she took her frustration out on me. She demanded that I fight quickly so that she could at least get back to what she enjoyed.

Great teacher, right?

I shook some haze from my mind and slowly got to my feet. Across from me, Anna twirled two daggers in her hands. I sagged my shoulders, huffed, then raised my hand ax to defend myself.

She did not say a word as she surged towards me. Even though this felt like the hundredth time we moved like this, the fluidity with which Anna fought still stunned me. She wasted not a single motion. Each stab and slash from her daggers were meant to quickly disable or kill me. I thanked God the daggers were blunt. Because if they were not, I would have been dead long ago.

About as gracefully as a three-legged sloth, I swung my hand ax to meet Anna's first flurry of attacks. I found this strategy worked best. Daggers were short weapons, which meant there was not a lot of room for parrying with them. So whenever I swung hard, Anna either had to break off her charge or take the full force of my ax against her weapons.

This time, as I swung my ax to the right, she broke off her charge. Then she glided to my left. With nothing to hit, my momentum carried me off balance. Right as I started to stumble forward, I felt a blunted point jab against my ribs, followed by a hard pommel bashing across the back of my head, sending me face down to the dirt.

Anna's tongue clicked as I saw stars. I groaned as I lay face down in the dirt. As I lifted my shaky gaze, I caught sight of her dusty boots right in front of my face.

"No." She frowned down at me, hands on her hips, "No, no, no." She snapped her gaze over to Gaius, who leaned against the barracks wall, while I struggled to push myself up again, "Have you taught him nothing, Gaius?"

Gaius shrugged, "I have. Maybe you just intimidate him?"

"A Risen will be a hell of a lot more intimidating than me," Anna remarked. She rolled her left shoulder, then stretched her leg.

"Sore?" Gaius chuckled.

"You wish."

Gaius laughed a little more before inclining his chin at me, "C'mon Sammy, get up. Try again."

I pushed myself up onto my knees. My head felt fuzzy, some blood still dripped from my lower lip, and I could feel the welts growing beneath my leather armor.

"Do you all know the definition of insanity?" I panted.

Gaius arched an eyebrow, "Can't say I do. What about you, Red?"

Anna shrugged.

"It is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." I breathed as I finally managed to rise to my feet. I swayed backward, took a step back to catch my balance, and gave my head a quick shake, freeing myself from the cobwebs in my mind.

"Then I guess you should try something different," Anna replied.

I blinked, "That was uh… not where I was going with that but-"

"If you're trying to tell me that the way we are teaching you is not working, don't bother," Anna grumbled as she readied her daggers again.

"Well, the way you are teaching me is not working," I replied, completely exasperated, both with Anna's callousness and my inadequacy at fighting. I held my ax loose in my right hand as I stood in front of her, utterly defeated, "I'm no closer to beating you now than I was a week ago."

Gaius frowned to my left, "Not with that attitude." He shifted the lollipop in his mouth over to his other cheek, "You gotta believe in yourself a little more, Sammy."

I snorted, "Believe in myself? Yeah, tell that to my bruises."

"Each bruise holds a lesson. Same goes for every mistake." Gaius remarked, "Red and I didn't get good without taking our fair share of lumps. Right, Red?"

"I have always been good at this." Anna shrugged.

"Ignore her. She's arrogant sometimes."

Anna flipped him off.

"And very charming too," Gaius smirked back.

"You know it." Anna snorted.

"Well, I don't feel like I'm learning from my lumps." I sighed.

Gaius glanced down at his boots for a moment as he folded his arms, "Sammy, how did you start out fighting Anna?"

I raised an eyebrow, puzzled, "Does on my ass count as an answer."

Anna let out a laugh, "He's not far off."

"Nope, he's not." Gaius popped his lollipop free from his lips. He gestured at my ax with it, "You tried to fight with a terrible grip and bad technique. With each beatdown, you implemented a correction. You remembered how Red beat you and tried to prevent it the next time. That's progress."

Gaius stepped away from the wall and moved towards me. Once he reached me, he tapped the side of his head with his finger.

"You're thinking—both a good and bad thing, in my opinion. You're thinking about how you can adjust, which is smart on your part. But you're also thinking that you're fighting is for shit, which is bad." He nudged my forehead with that same finger, leaving a dirty imprint and making me frown a little bit, "The battle is won up there first. If you think you can't win, you never will. You eliminate so many possibilities by thinking you can't do it."

I rolled my eyes, "I've heard that before."

Gaius's eyes sparked a moment as I quickly caught myself before saying any more. He did not seem angry or frustrated with me. Seeing a frustrated or angry Gaius had to be about as rare as seeing a gentle Risen in this world. So I did not shut up for fear of that, but rather out of fear that the thief was far more perceptive than I thought he was. That was evident by the many observations and pointers he gave me during my training.

_Then again, this Gaius is maybe… fifteen years older than the Gaius from the main storyline of the game. Which means he is a decade more experienced. _I smiled to myself as I remembered a quote from one of my favorite cartoons growing up, _Experience outranks everything._

He apparently could see the doubt on my face.

"A little tip for this next try." He leaned close to my ear, "Is that ax your only weapon?"

I blinked. No, the hand ax was not my only weapon. Anna gave me two daggers when I first met her as well.

Gaius patted my shoulder and stepped away. He gave Anna a small nod, signaling her to continue beating me to a pulp.

I took a breath. I only fought with the ax because Anna called it my primary weapon, the one I needed to know how to use the best. Especially since I was, according to Frederick, hopeless with a blade. I figured I'd try to master an ax before moving on towards the weapons that more closely resembled swords.

_There I go thinking again. _I thought.

I took a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. A cool breeze drifted over the palace walls down into the yard, kicking dust-up over my boots. My grip on my hand ax tightened, and my free hand balled into a fist in anticipation.

Anna swept forward. As she moved, Gaius's words rang in my mind. I have more than one weapon.

I didn't swing first. This time, I jumped back, away from Anna's initial thrust. Then I swung down hard with my ax, aiming for her wrists. She snapped her wrists away, surged forward, and aimed the point of her right dagger right at my head.

I yelped and ducked. As I ducked, I thought quickly. My ax was too slow for what I wanted to try and do, but a dagger was not. As fast as I could, I reached for the scabbard on my left hip and drew my long dagger. I swept the blade across my vision, aiming to slash against Anna's midsection.

It nearly worked. Anna backpedaled quickly. My jaw fell open as I realized I put Anna on the retreat for the first time in… ever.

My shock and happiness was short-lived and very quickly replaced by pain in my midsection as Anna threw her blunted dagger full force at my belly. The blunt point dug into the leather, hung there a moment, then fell to the ground. I let out a wheeze as the impact shot all of the air out of my lungs. Before I could even stagger backward, Anna lunged forward and tapped her other dagger beneath my chin.

"Dead again." She said, but instead of any frustration, there was a hint of a smirk on her lips.

Gaius clapped to my left. I flicked my eyes over as Anna backed off, picked up her thrown dagger, then sheathed her daggers.

"See?" Gaius smiled at me, "You're learning."

I gave him a weak nod, "I got lucky."

"Yeah, maybe you did." Anna remarked as she put her hands on her hips, "But that's how it starts. One lucky move, one dirty trick that can give you the advantage. You had me on my heels with that one move. If you pressed, you would have put me on the retreat. And, while you probably would have still lost, you would have made me work for the win."

I nodded again, then furrowed my brow, "Dirty trick?"

Gaius smiled at me, "Yup. You gotta remember Sammy; we're not front line soldiers. And we ain't fighting other soldiers, usually. If your enemy is stronger than you, faster than you, bigger or better than you, then your best chance of winning is to fight dirty. Especially if you are on your own in the wild." He drew his lollipop from his mouth once again, "Fighting dirty can be pulling a hidden weapon like you sorta just did with Red, or setting a booby trap and not having to fight up close and personal at all. The point is, you have to win by any means necessary. Both in training and in the field."

"Any means necessary," I repeated, doubling over and resting my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

Anna tapped my elbow, "Head up; you'll get more air that way."

"Oh, right." I breathed as I straightened upright again.

"And Gaius is right. Victory by any means necessary. That is how you survive beyond these walls, Sam." Anna inclined her chin at me again, "When I fight you, do you think I fight fair?"

I scoffed, "Hell no. You're faster and more experienced." My eyes squeezed shut as the welts hidden by my sweaty clothes started to ache, "Hardly a fair fight."

"Exactly, I make sure I use every advantage I have against you." Anna nodded, "You need to start doing the same. Throw out any notions you have about being fair and noble. We aren't in that kind of war nowadays."

"You could argue we never were," Gaius muttered.

"Don't say that to Lissa and Frederick." Anna reminded him.

"Heh, yeah, they'd disagree. Although I seem to recall both Plegia and Valm being particularly nasty."

"And we weren't?" Anna asked.

Gaius shrugged, "The Shepherds? Nah, not really. You know that."

Anna blinked, "Oh, well," She cleared her throat, "don't repeat what I said to the Exalt." She told me.

I let out a small laugh and move my finger over my lips, "Sealed." I replied.

"Good kid." Anna nodded. She took a deep breath, "Alright, Gaius, you can beat up on him now. I've got a shop to get back to."

"Thanks for the help." Gaius waved to her as Anna marched out of the training yard.

I uttered a loud sigh of relief as I watched the red-haired woman march out.

"Thank God." I exhaled.

Gaius let out a laugh, "You're not done just yet." he glanced up at the slowly setting sun fighting to peek out from behind dark gray clouds, "We've got a little more daylight still."

I groaned a little bit, "I'm guessing you're gonna thrash me now?"

"Well-"

The sound of the palace doors groaning open, then closed, grabbed our attention. Cynthia came bouncing down the white stone steps, still in her full pegasus knight's armor. Her armored plates shimmered in the fading light, freshly polished. She hopped her way over to the weapons rack near the barracks and plucked a long lance from it.

A sparkle danced in Gaius's eyes. My stomach dropped.

"Please don't." I whimpered.

"Hey, Cynthia!"

"Goddammit." I hung my head.

Cynthia spun away from the weapons rack. A broad smile rushed over her face, "Gaius! Sam! How's it going for ya?"

"Could be better." I breathed as the short pegasus knight rushed over.

"He's doing alright." Gaius smiled back as she rocked to and fro on her heels and toes, "You about to go train?"

Cynthia nodded, "Auntie Lissa's lessons ran long today, so I've only got a little time to work with Owain and Severa."

"Sevvy's over at the stables?" Gaius remarked in surprise.

Cynthia shook her head, "She never is; you know that. She meets Owain and me over in the gardens. Lots of obstacles to work around there. Makes fighting interesting."

Gaius gave her a slight frown, "If Freddy found out you were-"

"That's the thing; he hasn't found out yet. So we're going to keep going." Cynthia beamed back mischievously.

Gaius's lips twitched, "Well, I tried to scold ya. Say, before you run off, mind going a round with Sammy?"

"Really!?" Cynthia gasped, very excited all of a sudden.

"This is a bad idea," I muttered as I kicked at some loose dirt my feet.

"Nonsense, this is a good idea. Diversity of opponents is always a plus. You can't always fight Red and me." Gaius smacked a hand against my back, right against a large welt Anna gave me. I hissed, but he did not notice, "You're about to learn how to fight an opponent with a long reach. And there isn't a better way to learn than hands-on, right?"

"Right." I sighed.

"Good." He smacked that same spot again, eliciting a sharp grunt from me. It's like he knew that spot hurt. Gaius stepped off to the side and jabbed his half-finished lollipop back into his mouth, "Positions, both of you."

I gulped then got ready. Knees bent, weight on my toes, grip on my ax tight, but not too tight. Head and body low to the ground, just like Gaius showed me. I had to make my already small target even smaller, according to him. It hadn't worked against Anna, in my opinion. But maybe it would work against Cynthia.

My hopes were dashed as Cynthia spun her lance in her hands like a kung fu master spinning a quarterstaff. I could feel my stomach drop, and my heart jump up to my throat as she planted the end of the spear in the ground and gave me a sweet smile.

"I'll go easy on ya. Don't worry." Her bright grin widened, "Wouldn't be very heroic if I beat you up super badly when you don't really know what you're doing."

I swallowed hard, "Yeah, uh… heroic."

I flicked my eyes over at Gaius. The thief motioned down with his right hand, signaling me to calm down and relax. Hard to do when staring down four feet and twelve inches of blue-haired kickassery in front of me.

Cynthia gripped her lance in both hands, then leveled it at me. It's blunt, yet large point stared at me like an intimidating glare.

"Normally, I'm on my Pegasus when I use this." Cynthia explained, "So this will be good practice for me too."

"G-glad I can help," I replied nervously.

Gaius raised a hand, forcing us both to go silent. Sweat dripped down the side of my face as I waited for his hand to drop. My eyes glanced right away to her feet. Something both Gaius and Anna told me to do at the start of every fight. Feet give away your opponent's fighting style. Flat-footed means slow and heavy-handed. On their toes means light and flighty. Anticipate both, then adjust.

Cynthia stood flat-footed, which made sense. The lance she wielded had to have some weight behind it. Not that she noticed any of the weight. For such a small girl, she was strong. Of course, she must have been training with a lance her entire life, given that her mother had been a pegasus knight as well.

Gaius's hand dropped. Adrenaline rushed through me, twisting my stomach into a knot and forcing my heart to race a million miles an hour.

Cynthia lunged at me, jabbing her lance right at my stomach. I scampered backward, only to be forced off-balance as she thrust forward again, nearly connecting with my sternum. She stabbed high one more time, forcing me to lean back away from the point.

As I stumbled backward, Cynthia shifted her grip. With a small snarl, she swung her lance in a wide arc towards my right shoulder. I cursed loudly, then dropped to the ground.

"Move quick, Sam!" Gaius barked.

A panicked yelp rushed from my lips as Cynthia jumped at me, lance raised, ready to impale it into my back. I quickly rolled to the side and heard the lance hit the ground with a hard thud.

I scrambled back up to my feet and bounced to the side of another thrust. With as much strength as I could muster, I swung my ax at her lance. It bounced harmlessly off of the head of her spear, but it also forced it to the side, giving me a little more time to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do right now.

"Any means necessary!" Gaius snapped sharply.

I flicked my eyes over at him. He was pacing by the barracks wall now; arms crossed as he watched the duel intently. I could see his jaw working furiously on the lollipop in his mouth. Was he rooting for me to win this thing? Impossible, there's no way I could beat Cynthia. I've only been training for a few weeks, and my progress had been slim to none.

I mentally smacked myself. Gaius's words rang in my mind, as did the sensation of his finger pushing against my forehead.

"_The battle is won up here first."_

I took a deep breath.

_I can do this._

Cynthia charged again. I ducked to the side of her thrust, then dropped low to avoid another vicious swing from her spear. The wood and metal hissed over my head as it narrowly missed braining me.

Cynthia was fighting aggressively. Always pushing forward, all of her balance forgotten in favor of putting strength into her strikes. Not only that, but I could see her chest heaving up and down. Swinging her lance around was making her tired. Perhaps I could outlast her?  
I avoided another stab then backpedaled several steps. Cynthia did not pursue this time, instead opting to catch her breath. A blessing for me, because it gave me another precious moment to think.

Outlast her was option one. But it would be a bad play. I was already exhausted from training with Anna and Gaius for most of the day. My weariness was bound to catch up to me eventually. Once it did, Cynthia will happily pounce and end the fight before I can even strike back at her. That option was out.

I thought back to her aggressive fighting. How she charged and swung with near reckless abandon. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage? I was also bigger than her (not by much, but a few muscles had finally started to show after all of this training). Victory by any means necessary, right?

I gulped and made up my mind on what I was going to do. If it worked, I might just have a chance.

Cynthia took another deep breath, leveled her lance then charged once again. I crouched low to the ground, hoping she would angle her lance to hit me in the torso instead of the head. To my delight, she did just that. Now I just needed to time it.

I grit my teeth and rolled to the side. Her lance nicked my left shoulder, tearing the fabric of my shirt and leaving a nasty scrape on my skin. The point dug into the dirt. Before Cynthia could yank it free, I swung as hard as I could with my ax at the shaft of her lance.

The ax head dug into the shaft, splintering the wood away and sending hard vibrations up the pole into Cynthia's hands, making her recoil. Before she could recover, I jumped on the spot where the ax hit. Wood snapped beneath my feet as her spear split in two.

"Wha!" Cynthia cried as she stumbled backward, off-balance due to trying to yank her lance free from the earth.

I surged forward, fought against my protesting muscles, and swung my ax hard at her chest. Cynthia fell backward, causing my ax to miss hitting her.

I stumbled forward, spun on my heel, and drew my dagger. Cynthia scrambled up to her feet and caught my slash with the back of her gauntlet. I pushed all of my weight up against her forearm, forcing her to reinforce with her other hand. That was when I reared back with my ax.

Her blue eyes widened. Just as I brought it hissing through the air, she moved fast as lighting, snapping her foot out at my right knee. I heard a loud pop, felt pain erupt through my leg, then collapsed into a howling mess of pain in the dirt. My ax fell uselessly beside me.

"Oh Naga!" Cynthia gasped as she covered her mouth her hands, "Sam!"

"Fuck!" I bellowed as I gripped my limp leg.

Gaius strolled over as Cynthia gave him a worried look.

"I-I reacted and-"

Gaius raised a hand, "Ya did what you were taught to do, Cynthia. Good on ya. That was a nasty kick." He stooped over me as I flopped over onto my back. Tears bubbled in my eyes as I writhed on the ground, "Not bad Sammy. Not bad at all."

"Goddammit, that hurts!" I howled.

Gaius nodded nonchalantly, "I bet." He glanced over his shoulder at Cynthia, "Go get your aunt."

"R-right." Cynthia rushed back to the palace.

I barely heard the palace doors shut through the ringing in my ears and my hisses of pain. Gaius flopped down onto his rear beside me as I finally stopped rolling and simply lay still. He leaned over and grabbed the back end of Cynthia's shattered lance from the ground.

"Good move, Sammy." He nodded again, "Shatter the weapon then strike." He nudged my shoulder with the broken spear, "I'm proud of ya."

I let out a groan as more pain washed through my leg.

"You're welcome." Gaius nodded.

The palace doors opened again. Through my bleary vision, I made out Lissa, Maribelle, and Cynthia, rushing down the steps towards Gaius and me. Maribelle carried several bottles in her arms while Lissa gripped her healing staff. As they approached, Gaius raised an eyebrow.

"A bit much, don't ya think?" He said with a small laugh.

"For an injured Shepherd, it is never enough." Maribelle sniffed as she popped the cork on a vulnerary and shoved the vial between my lips. Forcing me to quickly gulp down the bitter-tasting, blue liquid, "What foolish shenanigans caused this injury?"

"Looks to me like Cynthia's boot caused it." Lissa said with a slight laugh as she wrapped her hands around my increasingly swollen knee. Her healing staff glowed green over my knee, and the pain began to ebb away, "I'm guessing some snapped tendons are in there. That'll be fun." Lissa sighed before looking up at Cynthia, "Nice kick."

"Th-thanks." Cynthia replied with a nervous smile.

Maribelle sniffed at Lissa's compliment, "We should move Samuel indoors where we can work more properly on his injury."

Lissa nodded in agreement, "Gaius, grab his legs."

"Gotcha."

"Be fucking gentle!" I snapped as Gaius moved to my ankles.

Maribelle's hand smacked my cheek. A deep scowl rested on her face, "Watch your crude language."

_I'll say whatever I damn well please right now! _That's what I wanted to say, but my reply ended up being a simple nod. Pain, and Maribelle's stern glare, rendered me mostly silent at this moment.

"Cynthia, help Gaius," Lissa ordered

"Right."

Cynthia hooked her arms under mind. Both she and Gaius heaved me up off of the ground. I hissed in pain, causing Maribelle to roll her eyes.

"It is just a dislocated knee. No need for the dramatics."

"Dislocated?" I paled.

"Great job, Maribelle. Way to mince words." Gaius droned as the four of them took me towards the barracks.

"There's no point in lying to him." Maribelle shrugged, "Magically healing the ligaments and tendons will take time. But first we need to pop it back in place."

"Wait, what!?" I gasped, suddenly short of breath.

"Reel it back, Maribelle." Lissa breathed as she reached for the door.

"Then there is the matter of him feeling his tendons bend, stretch, and reattach to the-"

I blocked out whatever she said next. Whatever it was, I did not want to hear it. Instead, I sucked in sharp breaths through gritted teeth and did the next best thing other than listening to Maribelle describe in great detail the extent of my injury. I focused on the pain.

* * *

This was a familiar situation. Back home, in my world, my knees were never the best. My mom always said I inherited my grandfather's knees. They were brittle things that liked to hurt at the slightest twist or bump. These knees were the reason I never went far in high school sports, despite the actual effort I put in at first. They were also the biggest reason I despise running in any shape and form. Quite honestly, I am amazed that they lasted this long during training and that they did not give out on their own.

Instead, it took a brutal kick by an armored boot to take me down. Improvement folks! I sighed and glanced at my knee, wrapped up tight with cloth, propped up on the barracks sofa with a soft pillow beneath it.

At least I was used to this uncomfortable position. According to Lissa and Maribelle, it should only be a couple of days before I'm back on my feet. Just enough time to give the tendons and ligaments that were magically repaired about an hour ago some time to rest.

Needless to say, that entire process was less than soothing. First, Maribelle quite unceremoniously snapped my knee back in place. She told me she would count to three. Should have known that was bullshit because Gaius was giggling like a psychopath before she even started counting. She snapped it before she even said one. I screamed like a little girl, much to Gaius and Lissa's eternal amusement. Then the magic flooded my leg. I could feel the tendons and ligament stretching and moving back to their proper. While uncomfortable, there was a strange… I don't even know how to describe it; a buzzing feeling. Kind of like when your leg falls asleep, only not as uncomfortable.

The feeling remained for hours after Lissa and Maribelle stopped their work. Now I sat alone in the barracks. A fire crackled in the fireplace thanks to Gaius, who went back home to make sure Yarne didn't have a panic attack over something or another. The thief left quickly, and he had yet to return. Which probably meant I was alone for the evening. Not a bad thing, but getting to bed was going to be a bit of a challenge.

I let out another long sigh then glanced at the bowl of stew I had in my hands. I hadn't touched it yet. Unusual for me. Usually, I would be so hungry after training that I would wolf down whatever was put in front of me then ask for more. But tonight I did not feel very hungry. I wasn't exactly sure why. It wasn't the knee pain ruining my appetite. More magical go-go juice and a healing staff managed to soothe that just fine.

No, what bothered me was my performance during training today. I felt surprised, to say the least. Anna absolutely thrashed me day in and day out. While she and Gaius said I improved, I failed to see it, until I fought Cynthia. The blue-haired Pegasus Knight said she would go easy on me, and though it did not feel like she did at first, the feeling of her boot kicking my knee out of place told me she did. And yet, after breaking her training lance and forcing her to go all out, I felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

I shook my head and swirled my spoon through the stew broth.

_Don't get too excited. _I glanced down at my heavily wrapped knee. _You're still you._

The door to the barracks slammed open, nearly making me leap out of my seat and spill my stew across the floor. Happy, my lone companion in the barracks, did not even bother to raise his head from the rug near the fire as he slumbered.

Cynthia uttered a happy sigh as I looked over my shoulder to see her barge in and stretch her arms over her head. Her armor was long gone, replaced by a long-sleeved blue shirt and skirt. "Nice and warm in here."

"Indeed, my good comrade, fellow member of our cabal of justice!" Owain declared as he sauntered in after her and flopped down in a chair beside me, "Good Samwise, how fares your wound?"

"Wound?" Severa rolled her eyes as she walked in, arms folded over her chest. She took her usual spot near the fire, "Gawds, a leg giving out is hardly a wound."

"It so is Severa. I gave it to him." Cynthia declared.

"Hardly something to be proud of." Severa shrugged as Happy strolled up and took a seat beside him. She reached down and started massaging his head, eliciting a few happy pants from the large canine.

"I-I'm not proud of it, I-" Cynthia folded her arms and flopped down on a bench, a long pout on her face, "You're mean."

Severa rolled her eyes again but said nothing back to her. Instead, she turned her gaze to me, "So, you fought Cynthia."

I pursed my lips, "Fought is the debatable term there."

"No, it is not." Owain said as he kicked his legs up over the chair's armrest, "According to Cynthia's telling of events, you shattered her lance."

Severa's eyes widened briefly, "You failed to mention that, Cynthia."

Cynthia smiled nervously, "Well," She chuckled, "Not my proudest moment."

I narrowed my eyes as the blue-haired girl, "You saying I'm not a good fighter?"

Cynthia jumped, "I well- you-"

I started chuckling as she struggled to answer. Her cheeks flushed as she grew more flustered. Owain joined in my laughter. Then, to all of our shock, Severa chuckled under her breath.

"You're all mean!" Cynthia cried, curling up tighter in her chair.

"Just teasing ya." I replied with a grin.

I reached for my bowl of stew and swirled my spoon through the broth once again. This time, I decided to take a bite. As I dug into my stew, the door to the barracks opened again.

"Odd of ya to be out here, Mr. Gaius." Kjelle's loud voice boomed.

"Yeah, well. I gotta make sure Sammy's doing alright." Gaius replied as he sauntered in after her.

Kjelle shrugged and took a seat at the barracks bar. She reached over the counter and grabbed one of the few bottles of alcohol still inside of the place.

"Drink anyone?"

Cynthia raised her hand.

"Not you." Kjelle remarked.

"Why not?"

"The fact that you have to ask why not tells us why." Severa replied before laying her head back against her chair, "I'll take one, Kjelle."

"One for me too." Gaius muttered as he sank onto a bench near the fire.

"I shall abstain." Owain replied with a nod.

"Sam?" Kjelle asked.

I blinked, "Yeah, uh… sure."

Kjelle poured and delivered the drinks. When I took mine, I took a small sip, winced as the alcohol burned my tongue, then reached to set the glass down on the table in front of me.

"So how long are you out of commission?" Kjelle asked as she retook her seat at the bar.

"A couple of days." I replied with a shrug, "Nothing too major, thankfully."

Gaius blinked, "Did I just hear you say that? You're looking forward to getting back to training?"

Owain's mouth fell open. My mouth opened and closed as I struggled to form a reply.

"Well, um… you see… damn it."

"Ha!" Severa exclaimed, "All that complaining for nothing. Good luck, Sam. Everyone's gonna be extra hard on you now."

I raised my brow, "And they weren't already?" I nodded at my knee, "I'm wounded here."

She waved her hand, "Walk it off."

"I literally can't."

"Both of you don't start. I don't want the migraine." Gaius sighed as he massaged his temple, "Already had to calm Yarne down after accidentally slamming the door too loudly." He took a long gulp of his alcohol, "Seems no matter what I do, he won't just… get better. I know it sounds horrible to say, and I'm doing everything I can to help the kid, but…" Gaius shook his head and glanced at the amber liquid in his glass, "This shit is making me talk again."

"You don't have to be upset about talking to us, Mr. Gaius." Cynthia said with a gentle smile.

Gaius snorted, "That grin makes you look like your ma." He gulped down the rest of his drink, "And I'm not gonna burden you kids with my problems. We'll leave it at that."

"Fair enough." Severa shrugged, she stopped rubbing Happy's head and craned her neck to look over at Kjelle, "Seen Laurent lately?"

Kjelle shook her head, "He's holed up in the Academy with Noire, her dad, and his mom. I hear their working on something big up there. Some sort of major research into the archives. Not sure what about."

I paused as I brought another spoonful of stew to my mouth. Major research at the Mage's Academy? I did not know much about the bad future in the Awakening game, but I knew that the only way any of these people survived was by executing a ritual that sent them back in time. I pressed my lips into a thin line before bringing my spoon to my mouth.

Was Laurent helping research that same ritual? Maybe, but I could not know for certain. For all I know, they could be researching information about the Grima himself and how he came into being. A way for them to possibly find a weakness by scouring ancient texts about the Fell Dragon.

_Even though his only weakness is an exalted Falchion, something they know nothing about._

But I know about it.

That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I glanced around at the group of people enjoying a warm night by the fire with me. I know how to possibly save all of them from a terrible fate. I know how to save them from having to execute a perilous ritual, from losing their families and their homes. Or at least, I think I do. It had been a while since I did a full playthrough of the game. Some details were missing for me. In this case, they were major details that I wished I could recall.

Perhaps it was a good thing I could not recall them. That meant I had a valid excuse for not divulging the information that I already know. That all of the parents were going to die. That Grima was going to be victorious in his initial conquest, and their only hope of stopping him was to do some ritual that exalts Falchion. Or something along those lines. Incomplete information could be just as dangerous as none at all, right?

I exhaled and massaged my head with my right hand.

"You alright, Sammy?"

I flicked my eyes up over to Gaius. He was staring at me intently, a new drink swirling in his glass.

"Y-yeah." I replied, "Just thinking about today."

Gaius nodded, "Lots to think about, yeah. You did good today, Sammy. Fought well, learned a lot. Now we just gotta get you healthy, and we can get back to it. Besides, a couple days rest will probably do you some good."

I nodded in agreement. As I nodded, my leg started to go numb again. I quickly started to massage my thigh as I rested on the sofa.

"So," I began, hoping to take my mind off of everything, "Have you guys heard from the others?"

Gaius pursed his lips, "Not recently, no." He leaned back in his seat and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small piece of chocolate. He popped it into his mouth and chewed a moment, "That worries me."

"It's not like Lucy to not say anything for this long." Cynthia muttered.

"She's fine." Severa stated quickly, "If anyone can hold off the Risen, it'll be her, Lady Tiki, and Khan Flavia. Besides, she's not the only Shepherd up there, you guys. She's got Morgan's brains, Mrs. Sully's brawn, Mr. Lon'qu's skill, and Mr. Libra's magic." She shifted in her seat and sipped her drink, "They're fine."

"I hope you're right." Kjelle muttered, "I've heard rumors among the guards along the outer wall. They think Sir Frederick's gonna lead an army north to reinforce 'em soon."

Gaius's eyes darted over to Kjelle as she spoke.

"Really?" Cynthia replied, "Does that mean we will-"

"You kids won't be going near those front lines. Not if I have anything to say about it." Gaius interrupted. He got up from his seat, finished the last of his drink, and moved to set his glass down on the bar, "Battlefield's no place for kids."

"Morgan's my age." Cynthia reminded him.

"She's also nearly as powerful as Nah's old man was at that age. And you all know what he was capable of when he was around." Gaius muttered, voice much quieter than usual. He shook his head and took a deep breath, "Rest tomorrow, Sammy. I'll… I'll come check on ya soon."

Without another word, he exited the barracks. I furrowed my brow in confusion as the door clicked shut behind him.

"Is he okay?" I asked Severa.

Severa frowned back, "Did he look okay?"

"Sev," Kjelle sighed, "Sam doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" I replied.

Kjelle poured herself another drink, "Today is the anniversary of Grima's first siege of Themis. The entire reason why Lady Maribelle, Lord Donnel, and Brady live here instead of there." She threw back her entire drink in one gulp, "Because there doesn't exist anymore."

"A lot of Shepherds died during that siege." Cynthia muttered, "I-" She swallowed hard, "My parents died in the first battle, all the way in Plegia. But… but..."

"But a lot of our parents died that day." Kjelle sighed. She gave me a melancholic look, "Yarne's ma died in that siege. Passed in Gaius's arms on the battlefield, so I hear at least." She sipped her drink, "My pa died that day. Saved my ma's life, he did." Her jaw clenched tight, then relaxed, "She ain't been the same since. Been colder since that day."

"Both of Nah's parents died that day." Owain muttered, "Inigo lost his father. Gerome lost his mother." His usual cheer was long gone, "I had forgotten that happened on this day."

"That's because you haven't lost anyone yet," Severa grumbled.

A hurt look washed over Owain's face, "You forget, Exalt Chrom and Queen Sumia were my family as well!"

A flash of guilt ran over Severa's face, "Yeah, well… fair point, I guess. I'm sorry."

Cynthia appeared surprised by Severa's apology. Kjelle shrugged her shoulders as she sat at her spot at the bar, pouring another drink.

"We all have bad moods today. Ain't nothing to be sorry about." She raised this glass in the air, "To you, Pa." She gulped it down in one go, slammed the glass down, then set the bottle back behind the counter, "Better stop now. I've got guard duty again tomorrow."

"You must've done something to upset Sir Frederick," Cynthia said.

"Fighting with sharp weapons will do that." Severa sighed, "He's just trying to teach you responsibility." She kicked her legs up on the arm of her chair and reached down to stroke Happy's head again, "He did the same to me, Lucina, Gerome, and Inigo. Just do what he says, and you'll get back on his good side soon."

Kjelle snorted, "It's been a few weeks already. I'd say soon has long passed." She trudged towards the door, "You all sleep well."

"Goodnight, Kjelle," Cynthia called back to her before the door shut. She glanced down as the door clicked shut, "She never does good today."

"None of us do." Severa huffed, "The only day worse than today is the anniversary of this stupid war."

"It is not a stupid war," Owain replied sharply.

"You know what I meant by that." Severa replied, "I meant this war is stupid only because the Fell Dragon is stupid." She started scratching behind Happy's ears, "I hope, when we do kill him, he burns in hell for all eternity." A long sigh left her lips, she finished her drink, then got up, "I'm out of here."

"Goodnight, Sev," Cynthia said as the redhead silently strode out of the barracks.

Owain stretched his arms over his head, "I suppose we should turn in as well, Cynthia. Shall we assist Samwise to his chambers before we retire as well?"

Cynthia shrugged, "I guess." She turned to me, "Ready for bed?"

I gave her a quiet nod. It was not like I had much of a choice. Once they left, I would have no one to help me get down the hall to the bunkroom.

Owain wrapped one of my arms over his shoulders while Cynthia went ahead to set up my cot. As I hopped my way down the hall, my mind lingered on the significance of today. It was no wonder Gaius seemed much more intense with the combat training today. He was in a bad mood. Despite the circumstances surrounding today, he held himself together remarkably. All of them did. Their strength in the face of such tragedy left me dumbfounded.

I entered the bunkroom and flopped back onto my cot.

"I got it from here, guys," I muttered.

"Okay, um… I guess send Happy if you need anything." Cynthia said before waving goodbye. Happy loped into the room as both she and Owain left.

"I don't think Happy can enter the palace on his own," Owain argued as they disappeared down the hall.

"You never know, he totally could…"

Their conversation disappeared. Once again, I was left alone with my thoughts, my conflicts. As I lay there, staring up at a dusty ceiling, I began to wonder, was it right to hold back the stuff I knew, even if it might not be entirely accurate?

_If I say anything, Frederick will think I'm insane and throw me out. _I gulped at that thought. My mind returned to the ruins of Southtown and how I only survived thanks to the Shepherds' timely arrival, _I won't make it out there._

Then again, they won't make it if I say nothing.

**And chapter! Another training chapter, but Sam needs it, trust me. And we got to learn a little more about Anna and Gaius, as well as the fates of a few of the first-gen Shepherds. And now Sam is starting to have reservations about his continued charade. We'll see how that goes, won't we? Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also, check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Narwhal Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts! You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	7. He is a Thief

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 7

He is a Thief

Have you ever had one of those absolutely amazing nights of sleep? You know the kind I mean. The kind that occurs after a very long, hard day of work; where you flop down on whatever looks soft, shut your eyes and are dead to the world for eight hours. The kind where, no matter how strange of a dream you dream, you will not wake up, let alone twitch as you enjoy that amazing slumber. That kind of sleep. Yeah… I was having one of those sleeps.

Keyword there being 'was'.

One moment, I was sleeping peacefully. No feeling in any of my limbs. My head sunk deep into the lone, feather pillow that I (after weeks of sleepless nights) had finally gotten used to. Dead to the world.

Then the door to the barracks bunkhouse slammed open, interrupting my dreams. The sudden slam was followed by a hand harshly shaking my shoulder. I uttered a long, irritated groan and rolled over, turning my head away from whoever was shaking my shoulder.

_Let me sleep._

"Saaaammmmy."

A heavy sigh left my lips as one of my eyes cracked open. Even though my entire body was relaxed, I could feel my shoulders drop as I made eye contact with a very giddy Gaius crouching in front of my face. The first time he did that, weeks ago, he startled me so badly that I fell out of bed and gave him laughter material for a week. But now, after weeks of him waking me up this way, all I could do was utter another annoyed grunt and roll back over.

"It's not even dawn," I mumbled, failing to notice the irony in what I said. Back in my old life, dawn would have been an extremely early wake up for me. To think that I would consider dawn sleeping in today would have been laughable not long ago.

"Dawn's only in an hour or so. Besides, you'll need the time." Gaius informed me as he rushed around my small cot and shoved my shoulder with his hand, "Up and at 'em, Sammy. Don't make me get a water bucket."

I shot up from my pillow, "Once was enough!" I barked, wide awake.

Gaius threw his head back and laughed, "Aw, but I was looking forward to having another funny story to tell the other kids." He chuckled some more, spun on his heel, and sauntered towards the door, "I'll be waiting for ya in the common room. Hurry up."

I did not stop grumbling the entire short time it took me to peel myself from bed and get dressed. My incoherent grumbling continued as I trudged down the hall towards the empty common room, my boots dragging along the floor as I still felt too tired to take proper steps.

Yesterday's training had been exhausting. It wasn't just weapons training. It was thief (or 'Scout', as Gaius was keen to remind me) training too. Lots of jumping from one cramped spot in the yard to another. Crouches, rolls, sprints ending in very abrupt stops, followed by crouching again. Honestly, my legs felt like lead. Which should not have surprised me, that was how my legs felt every morning ever since I woke up near the ruins of Southtown so long ago.

_How long has it been anyway? _I wondered as I attempted to count the weeks in my mind. I lost track around month two, causing my eyes to widen a little in surprise, _Already nearly a quarter year here? How the hell did that happen?_

I entered the common room. No fire burned in the fireplace. There was no breakfast waiting, but Gaius did have a second glass of water waiting for me. I sighed and took the glass, quickly gulping down the cooling liquid.

"You'll need your cloak and daggers today," Gaius informed me with an excited grin.

I raised an eyebrow, "We never train with my cloak on."

Gaius shrugged, "Well, it's time ya started." His grin grew more mischievous as I moved across the room to a coat hanger near the door and snagged my black hooded cloak from it. I clasped the fabric over my shoulders and gave Gaius a suspicious look as he practically bounced up and down in his seat.

"You look like Cynthia right now, you know that right?"

"Can ya blame me? I've got something special in mind for today." He rubbed his hands together, giving me a clue as to what he wanted me to do.

"What flavor of tart this time?" I muttered as I trudged back over to him, right hand rubbing the sleep from my right eye, "Strawberry? Cherry?"

"Tart? Did I say anything about a tart?"

I drew back a little, "Isn't it a little early for cake."

Gaius jabbed my chest, "Don't say something so blasphemous. It is never too early for cake."

I snorted, "You sound like my mother."

"Good, she sounds like a smart lady."

I waved him off, "Alrighty then, you want me snatching a cake from the kitchens. Chocolate? Strawberry?" I furrowed my brow, "If you say cheesecake I'm going to demand I have a slice."

"When have I ever not shared the spoils?" Gaius reminded me. He patted my arm with the back of his hand as he leaned up against the bar counter, "Besides, you aren't going to steal from the kitchens today. That's gotten too easy for ya."

"I nearly had my skull caved in by a rolling pin a few days ago," I said, voice deadpan.

"But did you die?" Gaius smirked back, "Stop complaining, you've been doing good. But now… we have to kick things up a notch. I can teach, I can show, all of the stuff you need to know; but you and I both know that the best way to learn is to actually do the thing you're trying to learn. Am I right?"

My suspicion grew, "Why do I get the feeling you are about to ask me to do something exceptionally illegal?"

Gaius feigned offense, "Me? I would never!"

I chuckled and shook my head, "Yeah, you would. I've stolen how many pastries now?"

"You've only been doing my dirty work for a few weeks now, don't worry. If anyone actually cared, Frederick would have been on your ass already."

I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth, only to be silenced by Gaius raising his hand.

"Swear to Naga, you better not twist that any worse than I already have in my mind."

I chuckled again and drank what was left in my water glass.

"So, what are we doing this time?"

Gaius cleared his throat and leaned closer to my ear, "I need you to get me something."

I nodded slowly, "I figured as much." I replied with heavy sarcasm.

"Not a sweet. No, I'm going to have you break into something much… much… muuuuuch, more secure."

I gulped at the connotations behind that description, "Please tell me I'm not breaking into the palace vault."

"Pfft… that? That's easy." Gaius replied with a dismissive wave.

"Says you!" I shot back, "And if that is so easy, then shouldn't I be doing that? You know, taking things one baby step at a time."

"Sometimes you've gotta run before you can walk, Sammy." Gaius drawled back, "I've got something far more dangerous in mind for you. This mission-"

"Should I choose to accept it," I replied with a slight snicker.

"You're gonna accept it, otherwise I'm telling Freddy you stole his smallclothes."

"But I did-" I sucked in a sharp breath and gave him an incredulous look, "What the hell are you doing at night?"

"Nothing important." Gaius shrugged, "Just keep it in mind. Anyways, the job I have in mind involves a certain merchant."

All color rushed from my face, "No." I said quickly.

Gaius sighed, "Sammy-"

"Make that a hell no." I protested, pushing away from the bar, "Every damn time you have drawled out 'Sammy', you've put me through hell."

Gaius snorted, "A bit of a subjective description but I'll allow it."

I hung my head, "Gaius, please don't make me do this."

"Deal with her, or deal with Freddy."

"That is a no-win situation!" I cried.

Gaius nodded as a devious smile formed on his lips, "Yes it is. How are you going to handle it?"

I huffed and put my hands on my hips. My head shook again as I could not believe which option I was about to take.

"I'll be damned if I get blamed for stealing Frederick's underpants."

"Good!" Gaius nodded, "So, in Anna's tent-" I whimpered a little bit as he started explaining the job to me, "She has this brooch, jewel, pin thingy. Wears it all the time. Shaped like a gold and red dragon's head. Only ever takes it off when she goes to sleep. How do I know that? Well, she and I have been out beyond the walls more than a few times and-"

"Is Yarne okay with that?" I asked with a nervous laugh.

"Not like that!" Gaius exclaimed, "Naga, no. Anna would castrate me if I tried." He shivered, "Crivens, just the thought of that gives me the shakes." He exhaled as I kept laughing under my breath, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'll be the one laughing soon."

"Oooh, I don't doubt that," I muttered, wiping the last little bits of sleep from my eyes with my fingers.

Gaius nodded, "You gonna let me finish now?"

"Please do." I motioned with my hand, "Tell me how I'm going to sign my death warrant."

"You're overexaggerating." Gaius remarked, "So, this brooch, Anna takes it off when she goes to sleep at night. Keeps it close to her bedside, but just far enough away to pinch without her knowing. Your mission is to snatch the brooch and get it back here, to me, without her knowing the wiser."

"She's gonna know," I mumbled.

"And if she does, you do what you have to do to complete the mission." Gaius reminded, "Remember, by any means necessary. Except killing, don't do that. Not in this case. Maiming… er… nothing too permanent."

"Can you tell Anna that when she is chasing my scrawny ass down for daring to do this?" I asked as I moved towards the door, donning my dark hood, and contemplating what I did to anger either God, Naga, or Grima so much as to bestow this kind of punishment upon me.

"I'll be cheering for you!" Gaius raised his glass.

The door shut behind me, leaving me alone in the cool, early morning air. I sucked in a deep breath, letting the chill in the air rush into my lungs and wake me up all the way. I exhaled and bowed my head.

_This is beyond stupid._

With a final, reluctant sigh, I moved quickly towards the palace gates and slipped into the early morning darkness covering Ylisstol.

* * *

At this moment, or really any moment, I could not recall offhand the definition of suicide, or suicidal, or insane. But as I approached Anna's tent, tiptoeing along the wall of a nearby carpenter's shop, I knew that this was the definition of all three. It was one thing to make Anna mad. I frustrated her daily with my lack of fighting aptitude (although both she and Gaius insisted I was making improvements). It was another to make her furious, livid, so mad that the Incredible Hulk would be impressed.

Frustration and fury were two very different emotions for the red-haired merchant. One I have seen regularly. The other I have never witnessed, and thank God for that. Although I have heard of Anna's legendary acts of retribution. Apparently, the last time Gaius managed to steal something from her, she filled his entire pants and small clothes drawer with invisible itching powder brewed up by both Miriel and Laurent. She then proceeded to hide the only cure for a full week after that. Poor Gaius had to wear itchy clothes, or burn them all and wear nothing. While I would not have put it past Gaius to saunter through the Exalt's palace stark naked, I knew Frederick and, certainly Maribelle, would not allow that. So for a week, Gaius suffered. Now I feared I would be next.

_All for a damn brooch. _I thought, a long scowl covering my face.

This test was going to be the death of me. I could feel it in my gut.

I inched my way up to Anna's tent. My heart hammered in my chest. My pulse pounded and I could feel my breathing grow heavy. Before I moved my hand to push the tent entry open, I closed my eyes and took one quiet, deep breath. One of the first things Gaius taught me about sneaking around, control your breathing. By doing that, you force yourself to remain calm. Also, breathing can be very, very loud. Someone as alert as Anna would hear even the smallest sharp intake of breath. There was no room for error in this instance.

I carefully stepped into Anna's tent, doing everything in my power to avoid any sharp noises from occurring when I pushed the tent flap open. The inside was just as cluttered as I remember but in its usual organized sort of way. Anna had a method to her madness. There were jars and boxes of stuff everywhere. Everything had a label. But none of those boxes or jars were put in a specific place for a specific purpose. It made me wonder how she managed to find anything at all while at the same time marveling at how she managed to keep it all straight in her head.

My boots sank into a soft fur rug and I thanked my lucky stars. I had forgotten all about that. The rug muffled my footsteps, allowing my clumsy ass to move more quietly through the tent. I crouched low to the ground and crept my way forward, slowly making my way towards the small corner of the tent where Anna slept and kept her personal belongings.

A small snore made me freeze. My gaze creaked towards a small bedroll set up in the far corner. A mess of red hair, tangled up in knots, greeted my eyes. Anna slept peacefully on her side, a slight hint of drool hanging out of the corner of her mouth. She snored again, mumbled something, then rolled over onto her back.

I puckered my lips and took an extremely careful step forward.

A bird squawked.

_That goddamn chicken! _I glared over at a wicker cage near the foot of Anna's bed. The damn bird eyeballed me, clucked, then nestled back down on its small bed of straw.

_Cluck again and I may decide to try and figure out what eleven herbs and spices make you taste good. _I swallowed, _That is if I somehow manage to survive through today._

I slithered forward, drawing close to a small chest near Anna's pillow. Anna snored, mumbled, gave me a slight heart attack, then dozed again. I quietly exhaled and looked at the assortment of trinkets on top of the wooden chest. Nothing shiny caught my eye. There was a half-empty bottle of firewine and a used shot glass.

_Explains why she is sleeping so hard._

I saw a tattered notebook next to the bottle with a quill resting on top of it. A nearly empty inkwell sat on the other side of the chest, far away from the notebook. Beneath the small notebook was an even larger, heavier looking notebook. Various small scraps of paper protruded from the pages. I noticed various numbers scribbled on the papers and reasoned that had to be Anna's ledger.

_Even in the apocalypse, she keeps track of everything. _I thought to myself with a wry smirk, _Always count your pennies, right Anna?_

I frowned to myself. No brooch. Not even a hint of gold on top of the chest. A nervous breath slipped from my lips as I eyed the padlock on the latch.

_I'm gonna have to crack it open, aren't I?_

Anna snorted again and rolled on her side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a bright flash as the first rays of sunlight filtered into the tent. My eyes went wide, my stomach dropped, and my throat tightened. Carefully, I turned my head and saw it. A red and gold brooch, pinned just above her left breast.

My eyes closed and I fought off the urge to let out a defeated groan. I held my head in my hands and looked at the padlock.

_Why!? _I thought, _Why did she have to be wearing it!? _I shook my head as I glanced up at the roof, _Gaius I swear to God I'm going to kick your ass for this._

I glanced over at the brooch on Anna's chest again. In the back of my mind, I wondered, maybe Gaius meant a different brooch? Because how many gold and red dragon heads could someone like Anna have, right? I mean, she's a merchant, so she must have more. Or at the very least, something similar.

I shook my head. That was all wishful thinking. Anna kept this trinket close to her at all times, which meant that it was extremely valuable to her. Not just monetarily either, but personally. She will not have another one.

I inhaled through my nose and held my breath. The knot in my gut twisted tighter as I tried to figure out how the hell I was going to get that brooch off of Anna. Was it a pin like in my world? Or was it a clip-on piece of jewelry?

_What the fuck am I doing?_

I had no way of knowing how this thing was secured to her nightshirt. Part of me thought about calling this mission a wash and quickly retreating out. Honestly, being blamed for stealing Frederick's underpants wasn't sounding too bad right about now. What's the worst that could happen from that? Frederick gets mad and makes me do some sort of manual labor for an entire day. I can do that. I did manual labor for a living back home during the summer months, when Wisconsin wasn't a block of ice.

Oh, and what was the worst Anna could do to me? I'm not even close to creative enough to imagine the torture she'd come up with.

My eyes glanced back and forth. To abort, or not to abort? Either way, I end up losing. In fact, there was only one way to victory in this scenario: successfully take the brooch.

_If I'm fucked either way, I might as well make it one gigantic fuck._

Sweat beaded on my brow. My hand shook as it moved towards the brooch. I scooted a little closer to Anna, boots shuffling against the fur rug. The chicken clucked again, and I swear I could smell it frying at that moment. I gave the damn bird one long glare. It glared back at me.

The chicken squawked so loud that I jumped and fell forward. Ice shot through my veins as my hand grabbed hold of something nowhere near as small or hard as a golden brooch. I froze, and Anna's eyes opened.

She blinked and yawned. Her lips smacked together. I did not move a single muscle as I prayed that maybe, just maybe, she would go back to sleep. But I was not that lucky.

Her eyes narrowed at me. I stared wide-eyed back at her. Both of our gazes drifted towards my hand.

I don't think I've ever felt my heart stop so hard in my life as I realized what I was grabbing.

"Uh-um-uh-" I darted my eyes back up to a furious Anna. Time to decide how badly I was going to die. Did she care more about her brooch or her boob? Knowing Anna, it was the brooch, "Would you believe me if I said this is exactly what it looks like?"

"You…" Anna seethed, jaw clenched tight.

One thought ran through my mind at that moment as I saw her hand move towards the spot where I knew she always kept a dagger.

_Fuck it._

I ripped the brooch from her shirt, which elicited a furious roar from Anna. The chicken squawked. Feathers flew through the air as I started to sprint away, accidentally knocking the cage over and setting the little fucker free.

For some reason, despite not hearing anything like it for several months now, I could hear the guitar solo from Free Bird playing in the back of my mind. If anyone was watching me race out of Anna's tent, it must've looked like I was running in slow motion. But by god, I did not feel like I was. I don't think I've run this fast in my entire damn life.

Anna roared behind me as she shot out of her tent, giving chase. The early morning traffic had started in the market, and her roar brought it all to a sudden standstill. I wove my way through the early morning shoppers and merchants, not even bothering to say excuse me or pardon me. Manners go out the window when my life is on the line.

A throwing knife whistled past my ear, causing me to yelp and sprint even faster towards the closest alley.

"I'm going to kill you!" Anna screamed.

"Can't you let me apologize first!?"

Another knife shot past my ear, grazing the top of my ear lobe. I felt hot blood dribble down the right side of my face. Adrenaline shot through my veins. Fear pumped through my blood. With that fear came a strange feeling. A thrill, like how I thought daredevils felt whenever they pulled off some death-defying stunt (not that I've ever done that till now). A smile, both terrified and excited, crossed my lips as I ducked into an alley and yanked some crates down behind me.

A curse bellowed through the air, which told me I managed to make Anna trip up. That would not happen again. I knew that for certain. All I could do right now was try to escape and maybe, just maybe, elude Anna and get the brooch to Gaius. Let the merchant then unleash all of her anger on the actual schemer instead of the poor soul being made to go through with this idiocy.

_I'm the bigger idiot. _I thought as the alley came to a dead end.

"Fuck!" I cried.

I caught sight of a rickety ladder running up the side of a three-story market building. Without any hesitation, I raced to the ladder and started scrambling up it. My foot slipped on one of the bottom rungs, nearly sending me flat on my back. But a desperate, iron grip of fear kept me from plummeting down.

"GET BACK HERE!"

_Shit, shit, shit!_

I scrambled up the ladder and stumbled up onto the rooftop. I did not think anymore, I just moved. I knew I had to get back to the Shepherd's Barracks. Gaius was waiting for me there. If I could get back there, maybe Anna would not kill me, because Gaius would not allow that to happen.

I sprinted along the rooftop then hopped down to a second story building next door. My legs buzzed as they absorbed the impact before I ducked into a roll and came up running. I heard Anna do the same thing behind me. She was getting close.

_How is she so fast!?_

Another three-story building came up. I uttered a whine then picked up my speed. With every ounce of power I could muster, I jumped up against the wall. I managed to get two steps up the wall before reaching up and barely snagging the gutter on the next roof.

Normally I suck at pull-ups. Have never been good at them. Only ever managed to do two or three in a row before getting tired. But that had to be the best damn pull up I have ever done. I got to my feet on the next roof, returned to a sprint, and without any hesitation, jumped across a narrow alley to the next building.

I stumbled when I landed. A stumble that I knew would cost me dearly. As I regained my balance, I felt hands pound me from behind, knocking me onto my belly.

"Got you, bastard!" Anna snarled.

I flipped over and yelped as she stabbed down with a dagger. At the last possible second, I jerked my head out of the way. With instincts developed from weeks of getting my ass perpetually kicked, I snapped my head up and headbutted Anna right in the nose.

A wet pop rang through the air. Anna howled as she fell backward. I got up, dizzy from the sharp blow to the head. After stumbling a couple of steps I managed to miss the fact that I was near the edge of a building. I screamed as I fell off the edge.

Pain erupted through my body as I fell hard into a wooden cart. I squeezed my eyes shut and moaned as aches washed over my body. Sputtering coughs wracked my lungs as I writhed in the cart.

_What is even going on anymore?_

It took me about two more seconds before I realized that the cart had started moving. The old man driving it apparently did not notice me fall with a massive wham into his little cart. Neither did the shaggy old horse pulling it along at a leisurely pace.

I struggled to sit up. Stray bits of straw covered my head and shoulders. I winced and hissed when I felt my back tighten up. Before I could finish gathering my bearings I looked up. Anna sprinted across the rooftops, following the cart. I blinked in surprise, looked into my clenched right hand, and saw the brooch digging into my palm.

_Oh right. _I thought, mind still in a daze, _That's still happening._

A shrill scream erupted from my lungs as Anna leaped from the end of a building, soared through the air, and landed in front of me in the back of the cart. I stared up at the most enraged person I have ever seen in my life. Blood ran out of Anna's nose like scarlet rivers. Her eyes blazed with deadly intent as she clenched her fists.

"Time to die!" She declared.

Before she could pounce, I kicked out with my leg, forcing her to step backward and nearly fall off the back of the cart. However, she displayed the agility that she used to beat me up so many times before, easily tiptoeing along the back edge of the cart, jumping up onto its side, then falling onto me elbow first.

I howled as her elbow dug into my ribs. Fight or flight kicked in, and there was nowhere I could run to now.

I reached for the sheath strapped to my lower back, where my longer dagger was hidden behind my cloak. With my other hand, I blocked a devastating punch from Anna. The bones in my left arm rattled as I deflected the blow. A snarl surged from me as I drew the dagger and took a wild swipe at her. Anna recoiled backward, the tip of my blade narrowly missing her cheek.

I had to keep her off balance. Before she could spring forward again, I sat upright, got onto my knees, and propelled myself into her, tackling her like how I was taught to tackle a running back in seventh grade. My shoulder drove into her gut, knocking the air from her lungs. The momentum of my strike carried us both off of the back of the cart.

Curses and cries erupted from both of us as we tumbled on the cobblestone road behind the cart. When my rolling came to a stop, I felt a sharp pain on my forehead.

_My head... _I thought. _Someone get me some Tylenol._

"Samwise!"

_I'm dead._

I winced as I got to my knees. I looked towards Anna, who was also on her knees a mere five feet away from me. Her eyes blazed with rage. I uttered a long groan.

"It's Samuel." I uttered an exhausted breath, "U-E-L, at the end."

"I don't give a shit." Anna seethed as she got to her feet at the same time as me, "You grabbed my-"

I drew back in surprise, cutting her off, "I figured you'd be more upset about the brooch."

Anna's eyes widened. Her gaze darted to my hand.

"You mother-"

_Time to go!_

I spun around and face planted right into a wall of blue and white armor. My head spun, stars danced in my eyes, and I fell back on my ass. I gave my head a quick shake and looked up to see Frederick frowning down at me.

"Uh… hi."

Frederick's frown deepened. He raised his gaze to Anna, who slowly stalked towards me.

"Stay put." He ordered the redhead.

"Make me," Anna growled.

"He'll make ya." Both Anna and I glanced over to Gaius, casually leaning against the Palace Walls, "Trust me, Freddy doesn't play around. Speaking from experience there."

Frederick gave Gaius a weary look. I didn't even notice the amused smirk on Gaius's lips as I looked up at the white walls surrounding the Exalt's Palace.

"I made it?" I said, still in a daze. My head lolled towards Gaius, "Hey Gaius," The thief paled as I held the brooch up, "I did it!"

Anna's gaze snapped over to Gaius, "Why you no good, rotten, thieving, son of a-"

"Sammy's idea!" Gaius cried point a finger at me, "All him. I tried to talk him out of it."

"That…" I gasped as I fell onto my back and stared up at the sky, too dazed and tired to try and stand up, "Is a filthy… lie."

"Nope. He thought of it."

"Gaius."

"Yeah, Red?"

"Sam doesn't have the balls to think of what he just did." Anna snarled, "And I know Frederick didn't think of this nonsense."

"Indeed I did not." Frederick replied, "Whatever nonsense this is at least."

"I stole her brooch," I admitted.

"And he grabbed my tit!" Anna roared.

Gaius's eyes widened. A sputtering laugh came from his lips. A laugh he struggled to hold back until Anna glared at him, causing him to snap his mouth closed. His face turned red as he forced himself to not laugh.

"Only because this stupid thing was still on you," I remarked waving the brooch over my nearly limp body. I glanced over at Gaius, "Thanks for that wonderful intel by the way."

Gaius sputtered out a few more laughs, "Y-your welcome."

His laughter came to an abrupt stop when Anna stomped up to me and ripped the brooch from my scraped up palm.

"It's not a stupid thing." She snarled, taking a step back. She glared at Frederick, "I take it you won't let me kill him?"

A weary sigh left Frederick's lips, "Unfortunately no."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"He is a Shepherd, and Lissa would frown upon such a thing." Frederick commented, "But I will make sure his punishment fits the crime."

Anna whined a little bit, "You won't even let me take a finger?"

"What the fuck!?" I cried, now scrambling to my feet and trying to hide behind Frederick, only for the Knight to grab me by the arm and yank me back out in front of him like I was a small child being punished by a parent.

"No, Anna." The longsuffering Knight sighed, "Just… go about your day. I will handle the punishment personally."

"I don't even get a say?" Gaius asked as he stepped towards us, teeth working furiously on a lollipop as Anna glared at him.

"You would just reward him." Frederick pointed out.

Gaius shifted his lollipop from side to side before shrugging, "Eh, you're not wrong." He winked at me, "Nice job, Sammy."

"Gaius you-" Anna clenched her teeth, "You know that this brooch-" She could not even manage to form a full sentence as she grew angrier. So angry in fact that Gaius took a cautious step back.

Before Anna could spring at him next, hooves hammered against the cobblestone road. Frederick's grip on my arm went slack as a lone horse and rider galloped towards us. The horse had burns covering its entire right flank. Dried blood caked its muzzle. The rider was in even worse shape. Her short red hair was caked in both fresh and dried blood. Her face was as pale as a ghost. A glaze sat in her gaze as she swayed to and fro in her saddle, barely managing to remain upright.

"Butch…" Gaius breathed, hands trembling by his sides.

"Sully?" Frederick gasped.

The horse came to a stop beside the Knight. Sully's head hung loose on her neck as she gave Frederick a faraway look.

"W-west Longfort… fallen." She swallowed hard. A fresh trail of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, "Princess Lucina… missing…"

She fell from the saddle. Frederick's arms snapped out and caught her.

"Gaius!" Frederick barked.

The thief was already sprinting the palace doors to fetch Lissa and Maribelle. I turned to look at Anna only to see her sprinting towards the Academy, where Laurent and his mother were at.

"Sam!" Frederick snapped, making me jump, "Get her legs, quickly!"

I glanced at the woman that was limp in Frederick's arms. Her eyes were closed, and I could now see the horrific burn wound over her stomach. The fabric on her uniform was charred. The bottom half of her breastplate was twisted funny as if it was melted down and reformed by something hammering against it. I found myself unable to move as the sight imprinted in my mind. Burning a memory into my brain that I knew I would never forget.

"Samuel!" Frederick snapped again, shaking me free from my thoughts, "Get. Her. Legs."

My shaking hands quickly grabbed Sully by her ankles. Both Frederick and I rushed her towards the Palace doors. The doors were shoved open as Lissa and Maribelle sprinted out, healing staves and vulneraries in hand. A pair of guards with a stretcher followed them. Frederick and I placed Sully on the stretcher while Maribelle and Lissa spoke fervently to each other. All I could make out were the words burns, elixirs, and how.

I watched, body feeling numb, as the guards, Frederick, the Exalt, and her good friend rushed back into the Palace. The rushed past Gaius as the thief staggered back out, face ashen as he caught sight of Sully's horrific wound. The doors shut behind him, and he sagged against the wall.

I moved to help him out, but he shook his head.

"No more today, Sammy." He swallowed hard, "G-go wait in the barracks."

I swallowed hard, "Wait for what?"

He eyed me, anxiety in his eyes, "For the call to war."

**And chapter! I'm back everyone! Sorry for the wait on a new chapter. Real life plus the holidays hit me out of nowhere and really threw me off rhythm for this story. But now that the chaos is starting to die down, I should be able to get back to getting a chapter out every tuesday for this story. If not, then I'll make certain to let you guys know. **

**This was one of the funnest chapters I have ever written. The interactions with Gaius pluse the chase with Anna made me smile the entire time. I hope it did the same for you guys. Then that ending… oh that ending. We are about to really kick off the apocalypse now folks!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!  
Come hang out at the Treehouse! Discord link is: 9XG3U7a**

**And, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Narwhal Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts, and we talk about writing, fanfiction, and general nonsense. You can find the podcast on Spotify, and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	8. On the Road

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 8

On the Road

I grew up a military brat. My father was in the Army, my grandfather was in the Air Force, even my stepfather was in the Army for a time. I grew up around men that stepped onto battlefields, that experienced the hellish landscape of war. I have seen what it does to those people. The mere mention of their experiences always made them grow quiet. Seeing what it did to them, what that lifestyle molded them into, made me vow to myself to never follow in their footsteps. I would never wear a camouflage uniform, fatigues, or jackboots.

Some job I did adhering to that promise.

My hands tapped the armrests of the chair I sat in as I watched flames dance in the fireplace. For the first time in a while, I was not alone for the night in the Shepherd's barracks. Everyone except for Cynthia, Severa, and Kjelle were with me in the barracks. Kjelle did not leave her mother's side once she learned about Sully's dire condition. Healers were attending the Ylissean Cavalier around the clock while Kjelle remained close, praying to Naga that her mother would live. Or, that is what Brady told me he witnessed.

Severa and Cynthia were apparently with Exalt Lissa and the commanding officers in some council room buried deep within the palace, learning how to conduct a war council. Something I am happy I was not a part of. Meetings bored me to death.

But another part of me was anxious to hear what they were discussing. Gaius warned me, before he followed them into the palace, that I needed to wait for the call to war. Ever since, my gut had been twisted into knots. Brady actually offered me some medicine due to how pale I became and how many times I raced down the hallway to the bathroom in the barracks.

I could not go to war. I am not built for warfare. I tucked my chin to my chest and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down and alleviate the never-ending stomach ache. My hands felt clammy as I opened and closed my fingers. Nervous tension surged into my neck muscles, making them ache.

I knew I was not ready for whatever was coming. I was hopeless at fighting, according to Anna and Frederick. I was a decent sneak, but not sneaky enough to pull off a challenging mission, as evidenced by the bandage wrapped around my ear where one of Anna's throwing knives managed to nick me. I didn't even notice the stinging sensation that lingered from the sensitive gash. My mind was drawn towards my current predicament. As of now, I could not think of any way out of it.

I mean, I could just leave. I could get up, walk out the barracks door, stride through Ylisstol, and disappear into the wilderness. But then what? I would be on my own in the apocalypse. An even worse scenario than being sent off to war with highly skilled warriors by my side. I would not last a single day in the wilds on my own, no matter how much training I have received here.

Besides, even if leaving was the best option, and that is a big if, I could never bring myself to do it. For one, I did not have a viable plan afterward beyond finding a way back to my own world. But that, as far as I was aware, was a longshot; unless I could find the Outrealm Gate. But… hell I didn't really know how it worked. I doubted it was actually a thing in the world of Ylisse. Probably just a game mechanic to sell DLC. I could not afford to gamble my life on a maybe, especially in this environment.

I glanced over at Brady as he kneaded his healing staff. The priest paced two and fro in the process, gruff face impossible to read as he kept to himself. Laurent sat near the bar, studying some plant he plucked from the Academy greenhouses earlier. Drowning his own anxieties in work that he loved. I envied him a bit. He could at least distract himself. Back home, I distracted myself with music, but the music I liked was on my now dead phone, hidden near my bed in the bunkroom. And I never learned how to play an instrument; a major regret I had back in my old life.

Noire swallowed hard to my left. She nervously twiddled her thumbs, darting her gaze up at me then back down to her feet. It was the first time I had seen the archer in quite some time. She was always cooped up in the Academy with Laurent, her father, and Laurent's mother. From what I understood, Noire's father was a madman of a mage. Which meant he was Henry.

_God help that poor kid. _I thought as she shifted nervously.

"I-is there something wrong, Sam?" Noire muttered as I glanced at her.

I pursed my lips, "War is… well…"

"Eh, don't sweat it so much, Sam." Brady grunted, flopping down into a chair to my right, "You'll do fine. If my pa could learn to fight, you sure as shit can too. Sir Frederick and Gaius know what they're doing."

"I don't doubt them." I replied, "I doubt myself."

"Dangerous predicament," Laurent muttered, not removing his attention away from the plant now nestled in the pages of his spellbook. He hastily scribbled notes down in the book, causing Brady to sigh.

"Do ya mean the plant or Sam's situation?" Brady asked.

Laurent blinked, "Oh, Sam's predicament is most dangerous. One cannot lack confidence when engaging the enemy on the battlefield. My father always told me that if you did not believe in your own skillset, then you would falter."

"I doubt he said it with such big words." Brady snorted.

Laurent frowned, "My father may have been a simple man, but an oaf he was not."

"Whatever ya say." Brady remarked, sinking back into the chair, "But he's right ya know, Sam. From what I've heard from the others, you've come a long way since we found ya." He nodded, "You're a survivor, so you'll do fine."

I snorted, "Survivor? I got lucky one time."

"Had to have gotten lucky more than once to live in the wilds as long as you probably did." Brady pointed out.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, "Yeah, well… can't remember the other lucky times, can I?"

Brady shrugged, "Fair."

I shook my head as more doubt filled me. How the hell were they still falling for that lie? Me, an amnesiac? How the heck was I still managing to pull off that lie? Maybe Gaius and Anna's stealth training and less savory ways were rubbing off on me. Or maybe I'm a far more devious person than I thought, and I never got the opportunity back home to really show that. Regardless, the lie continued to make me feel guilty.

These people, the Shepherds, accepted me into their ranks virtually without question. They fed me, housed me, healed me, and trained me so that I could take care of myself if needed. They have been open and honest with me from the start. Sometimes brutally honest in the cases of Frederick and Anna's criticisms. Yet I could not reciprocate that honesty.

Why?

_Because maybe I'm just a coward in the end. I'm afraid of what they will think. _I exhaled, _I'm afraid they'll cast me out and I will have to somehow survive and find my way home on my own. _I bowed my head again, _I am a coward. After all, my first priority is getting home._

The door burst open. Severa, Cynthia, and Kjelle all strode in. All three were armored up, weapons strapped to their hips. Kjelle and Cynthia also had lances, which they leaned against the bar counter before taking seats near the fire.

"How's it going?" Brady asked them.

Severa flopped into her usual chair, "Badly." She muttered.

"Your ma, Kjelle?"

Kjelle sniffled and glanced over at Brady, "She'll live. Exalt Lissa is a damn miracle worker." She looked over at Laurent, "So is your mother. Her elixir saved my mother's life."

"I will make sure to pass on your thanks," Laurent said with a slight smile.

Cynthia gulped loudly as she took a seat on the floor, "Guys… Lucy is missing in action."

Brady grimaced, "We know that Cynthia. What I wanna know is what we're gonna do about it?"

"You kids aren't going to do anything." All of us turned to see Gaius and Frederick marching into the barracks. Frederick stared hard at Brady, "Not yet."

"Freddy is getting the army marshaled." Gaius explained to us, "I'm sure Specs and Junior are working on readying the mages for battle as well. You all will stick by your assigned groups when they march out."

"Who is leading the army?" Cynthia asked suddenly, "Is Auntie Lissa."

"Hark!" Owain tap-danced his way into the barracks, easily sliding around Frederick and Gaius, "My mother; the great maiden of peace, has thus declared that she shall lead the charge into war! She shall join my father, and my own sword hand upon the battlefield. And my legendary blade, Missiletainn, shall fell any foe that dares to harm her!"

"Tone it down already, sheesh," Brady grumbled as Laurent high fived Owain.

"Auntie Lissa's really going?" Cynthia gulped.

"I was surprised too." Severa grumbled, "From what I heard, she's gonna fly with the Pegasus Knights."

"Your aunt knows how to fly?" Kjelle asked Cynthia, surprised.

Cynthia nodded, "She learned after my… my parents died. She's also the one that got me to join the Pegasus Knights. Her and your mom, Sev."

Severa shot Cynthia a dark glare, which made Cynthia shrink back.

"Be ready to march in an hour, all of you." Frederick informed the kids, "We will be heading for Arena Ferox with all haste. I believe that was the next fall back point if the Western Longfort fell."

"But we don't know for certain." Gaius sighed, "No wonder Red went to go get her cart ready to go."

My heart stopped pounding in my chest. I stared at Gaius, suddenly petrified. Gaius sighed and nodded at me.

"Time for you to learn on the job, Sammy." Gaius spun on his heel and waved for me to follow him.

I did not move from my spot on the sofa. My knees knocked together and my stomach churned even worse now. It felt like I was on the verge of vomiting. Apparently, I didn't do a good job of hiding it, because Brady reached out with his staff and cast a green glow over me. Instantly, my stomach pain was alleviated and the nausea that plagued me all day faded away.

"Get going." Brady nodded.

I nodded, rose to my feet, and rushed after Gaius. The cold air of dusk slammed into me, and a dull orange sunset painted the clear skies as Gaius walked a ways away from the barracks, before turning around to face me.

"You've still got your stuff on you from earlier?"

I slowly nodded. My worry grew as Gaius grimaced and took a deep breath. I was so used to Gaius being very playful and mischievous. This though, this deadly serious man wearing leather plates beneath his clothes, was someone I had not seen before. There was an edge in his gaze that told me there would be no joking around once we reached Arena Ferox. This was real, it was actually happening. I am going to war alongside the Shepherds.

God help me.

"Daggers and ax are sharp?" He asked me.

I glanced at the ax on my hip, noticing the razor-sharp edge on the head. I then looked glanced at the small dagger on my other hip, remembering that I sharpened it earlier in the day while I waited anxiously for the others. Finally, I reached behind me to the short scabbard strapped to my lower back and yanked my longer dagger free. I held it up and Gaius nodded.

"That baby could cut stone, good." Gaius nodded, "Freddy managed to teach you proper weapons care at least."

"Take care of your shit and it will take care of you." An old mantra my parents told me when it came to cars, but I figured it applied the same to weapons.

Gaius nodded, "Sound advice." He took a deep breath, "Look Sammy, I ain't gonna lie to you. Frederick and Lissa have asked me, you, and Anna to go ahead of the army and figure out just what the fuck is going on in Ferox. We won't be taking the North Road straight to the Longfort, that'll take too long. We're going overland, across the northwestern part of the country, and right up to the Western Longfort. Part of road takes us through Plegia, but we won't be in that dustbin for long."

My heart lodged itself in my throat.

"That is where Princess Lucina went missing. And Frederick does not believe Khan Flavia would surrender the Western Longfort in its entirety. He thinks there are small cells of Feroxi still fighting. Our mission is to find them, link up with those little bubbles of allies, gather intel on the enemy, and if possible, figure out where Princess Lucina disappeared to."

My mouth felt dry as sand as I absorbed what he told me.

"Sounds dangerous," I muttered.

"Yeah, it is." Gaius agreed, "Red and I haven't done something like this in quite some time. Not since Grima torched Themis in fact."

I swallowed hard and reminded myself to thank Brady for curing my stomach ache. If he didn't, I would have been rushing to the toilet again.

"Am I ready?" I asked, not making an effort to hide my anxiety.

Gaius pursed his lips, "You're gonna have to be." He turned and waved for me to follow him.

We walked in silence down to the markets. Most of the shops were closing up for the evening. The streets and main market square were emptying out, with the exception of the taverns, where many citizens lingered during the evening. Of all things for me to think about as I followed Gaius, I wondered why I had not gone into a medieval tavern yet. Those have always been a big deal in any fantasy story. Even _The Lord of the Rings_ had a tavern: The Prancing Pony.

_If I somehow survive this, I'll have to change that._

"It's about time you showed up!" Anna shouted to us from inside her cart.

I blinked in surprise when I saw the state of her tent. By state, I mean the complete lack of a tent. Every single box, crate, and piece of merchandise Anna possessed had been stuffed into the back of her canvass topped, horse-drawn carriage. Two small spots, barely big enough for a pair of bedrolls, were cleared back there for sleeping purposes. As I got closer, Anna glared at me.

"You and I are not going to go to sleep at the same time, pervert." She finished strapping down something in her cart then hopped out of it.

I sputtered out a few incoherent sounds while Gaius's serious mask broke. He clapped my shoulder.

"You are a damn madman, you know that?" He chuckled, stepping up into the back of the cart while Anna marched to the driver's seat in the front.

"It was an accident!" I cried before taking Gaius's hand and letting him haul me up into the cart.

"How do you accidentally grab a girl's boob?" Anna shot back.

"Well when you have a terrifying chicken that squawks when I'm trying to do something, it can happen," I explained.

"I guess you could say you're a chicken when faced with a chicken." Gaius snickered.

"Fuck you."

Gaius threw his head back and laughed louder. The reins on Anna's cart snapped, and the wooden wheels rumbled against Ylisstol's cobblestone road leading out of the city from the markets. A few citizens walking along the roads stepped out the way and gave us solemn glances as we passed by. I hardly had a chance to ask why they all looked so somber when I heard something cluck behind me.

Gaius snickered under his breath as my face turned red with rage.

"I'm cooking dinner tonight." I said with a nod, "And it is going to be the best damn chicken you've ever had!" I shouted so Anna could hear me.

"You touch Cluckers you die!" Anna snapped back.

_Cluckers? _

Gaius rolled onto his side, wheezing with laughter.

"It has a name. Oh Naga, stop it! My sides hurt. First the boob, then the brooch, now the chicken. You're on a damn roll, Sammy."

"He keeps rolling and he'll find himself staring down the tip of my sword," Anna remarked as she guided the cart out of Ylisstol's main gate and north towards the wilderness.

I paled, "I'm not interested in experiencing that again."

"Oh! That's right." Anna glanced back at me, "You still need to be punished."

"Kinky." Gaius snickered.

Anna's eyes widened while I glared angrily at the rolling thief. Both Anna and I thought, then said, the same thing.

"Fuck you, Gaius."

* * *

I have lived in many places in my life, seen many different environments. I've wandered cities like San Diego and Chicago, where you are more likely to see miles of concrete than large patches of grass. I've walked the brick roads of Athens, Ohio, where if there wasn't a University in town, the town would not exist. I've lived in the Great Plains, in the Frozen Tundra, and on an island. All of those places were vibrant in their own way. Nothing ever seemed truly dull or dead.

I could not say the same thing about the fields and wilderness surrounding Anna's cart. Unlike the lands around Ylisstol, which were still somewhat lush and bright, the lands in Ylisse's Northwest were barren fields of dry, dead grass, and dust. Instead of a sapphire blue sky overhead, the sky seemed perpetually gray, even though there was a lack of clouds. The dead plains reminded me of something from, of all things, a Fallout game. Dead things everywhere. Not a living thing in sight. Dead trees, reduced to dry twigs sitting solitary in the plains. A few stacks of bones from various animals that I could not recognize without skin and muscle. A dreary place that sucked a lot of energy out of me and made traveling a dull affair.

Thankfully I was marching with two of the most insane people I have ever met. Gaius and Anna's bickering, verbal sparring, and jokes always managed to lighten the mood. If they were not around, I probably would have gone insane due to the dreariness and boredom.

Anna's cart rumbled to a stop near the top of a small hill. Her horse shook its head and snorted while Anna set the reins to the side.

"Sun's setting." She called back to me and Gaius in the cart.

Gaius snored across from me. The thief slept most of the day, taking long watches during the night for me and Anna. I nudged his boot with my foot, making the thief crack an eye open.

"We stopped?" He muttered.

I nodded as I moved to get out of the cart. Gaius let out a loud yawn while I jumped down and reached back up into the cart to grab mine and Anna's travel packs. I heaved Anna's pack over to her, which she easily caught as if it weighed nothing all. As usual, no thank you or acknowledgment towards me.

Gaius poked his head out as Anna yanked her bedroll free from her pack while I took a drink from my skin of water.

"She's still pissed?"

"At me? Yeah." I muttered.

Gaius puckered his lips, "What about when it comes to me?"

I gave him a weary look. Gaius shrugged.

"Just curious. I don't wanna tick her off with a bad remark."

"You didn't accidentally grope her, so I doubt she's mad at you," I remarked, shouldering my travel pack and walking over to where Anna was setting up a fire.

Gaius snickered as he strolled after me, not even bothering to grab his own travel pack, "There is that yeah, but-"

"I am not pissed at you from grabbing me," Anna muttered as she finished stacking some wood and dead grass for the fire. She reached into her pack, withdrew a red tome, and paused, thinking for a moment, "Well, I am a little mad about that. But I also know you wouldn't do something so stupid maliciously."

I cringed, "Can I still say 'I'm sorry', again?"

Anna glared at me. She opened the tome, whispered some words, and a fireball burst to life in her hand, making me pale.

"You took my brooch." She said, her voice monotone, but her eyes betrayed her still burning fury.

I gulped, "I was told by Gaius that it was a test."

Anna shot a small fireball at the wood and kindling, lighting a fire instantly. Gaius sucked in a sharp breath.

"I'm going to grab my stuff." He whispered to me, "I think it might be buried under some… crates… yeah."

"Way to feed me to the lioness," I growled back as he quickly stepped away.

"You talk very loud, you know that Sam?" Anna remarked, making me jump.

"Yeah well…" I bobbed my head back and forth, "It's a bad habit I need to fix."

"Especially for our line of work." Anna nodded, smoothing out her bedroll before sitting down on it. As she sat down, my eyes flicked to the brooch pinned to her breast.

_Let the topic die. Don't ask. Please, for the love of God, say nothing._

"So," I crouched down by the fire and warmed my hands, "What's the big deal?"

_Dumbass._

Anna furrowed her brow, "About?"

_Let it die!_

"The brooch," I replied, ignoring the probably wise voice in my head telling me to hide from this topic altogether.

Anna's face darkened as I reminded her once again of the stunt I pulled. Her fingers tapped against her right leg as she glared at me.

"It's important to me. That is all you need to know."

I worked my jaw back and forth a moment. That was not a very good explanation. Then again, what business did I have asking about an object that held significant meaning to another person? It did not affect me whatsoever.

But it did affect how well me and Anna could work together. I always felt tense around her now, because I knew she was always infuriated with me. Conflict was never something I enjoyed, and in my old life, I actively avoided it. Fistfights? I've been in three of them in my entire life before ending up in Ylisse. Someone angry with me? If I can't talk to them about it, or if they continue to stay mad at me, I normally just avoid the situation entirely. Yet, in my gut, I knew I could not do that in this situation. I could not let the topic go when all of our lives hinged upon us working well as a team.

"Well um…" I pursed my lips, struggling with my words, "It's just uh- you're a girl and I figured that you would be madder about the whole, you know-" I waved my hand at her chest, which made her frown more. Nothing like talking like an idiot when trying to resolve a conflict. Always works wonders. I cleared my throat, "Why are you so mad about the brooch?"

"It is important to me and-"

"And that is not all." I finally blurted out.

Anna's eyes blazed as I dared to interrupt her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gaius poke his head out from the cart, notice Anna's anger, and slowly retreat back into the cart.

"Look, Anna," I took a breath, gathering my thoughts, "I am so sorry for what happened. I had no idea it was that important to you. But please, can you explain to me why so that I know how I can fix this situation."

"There is no fixing this." Anna snarled. She tapped the gold and red dragon's head, "This was given to me by a member of my family. That is why I don't have any others. That is why it is not for sale."

My face dropped. Something Anna refused to sell? I didn't think anything like that could possibly exist! Every single thing in Anna's cart; from the smallest little knick-knack and tome to the most expensive steel shield, had a price on it. But not the brooch she wore every day.

"Oh…" I replied dumbly, not able to come up with anything else to say.

"So, no apology is ever going to be enough." Anna continued, "There are a lot of things I can tolerate, Sam. Breaking personal boundaries of mine, even if you do not know about them, is something I absolutely hate." She leaned forward, red eyes boring holes into me, "Don't do it again."

I swallowed hard and nodded silently. At that moment, Gaius emerged from the back of the cart once again and sauntered over to us.

"Look what I found!" He smiled, carrying a stringed instrument that I assumed was a lute? I think?

Anna pinched the bridge of her nose, "Gaius, you may play well but you have a terrible singing voice."

Gaius feigned offense, "I do not. I have been told by many that my crooning is quite enjoyable."

"You've been around Miriel too much then." Anna snorted.

Gaius raised his brow, puzzled, as he sat down next to me, "I don't sing to Specs."

"You just said crooning." Anna jabbed a finger at him, "I know a week ago you had no idea that word existed."

"I did too." Gaius shifted in his seat, "Just didn't know what it meant."

"Still counts," Anna replied.

"So what are you gonna sing for us, Gaius?" I asked quickly, hoping to stop any further bickering between the two.

Gaius thought for a moment, one finger plucking the first string on the lute.

"I was gonna ask you that, Sammy." He replied, making me suck in a breath.

"Me? Sing?"

_If you want an amazing rendition of a dying cat singing something you've definitely never heard of, then sure._

"Yeah." Gaius leaned back against his travel pack, still plucking the first string. He frowned, reached up, and tuned the string. One more pluck and he smiled, "That's better."

A hundred different songs bounced in my mind. But before I could even make a decision, I hesitated. According to the Shepherds, I have amnesia. My memory extended as far back as waking up in what was left of Southtown, no further.

So why would Gaius ask me to sing a song if I probably didn't know any songs? It's not like I had any time in the past few months to enjoy the rich Ylissean culture in Ylisstol. So I definitely did not know any local folk songs.

This situation needed to be played with delicate care. I glanced over at Anna.

"I don't know anything about singing." I lied, "What about you Anna?"

Anna glared at me, making Gaius chuckle.

"Good luck with that approach, Sammy. You ain't going to get Anna to sing a single note for us." Gaius ran his fingers over the strings, playing a soft melody that sounded soothing to the ears, "You sure you don't got anything to sing?"

I shrugged, "Can't recall."

Gaius nodded, "Right, forgot about that. Amnesia and all… yup." He cleared his throat, "Well then, if no one else is going to do it, then I shall. Any requests, Anna?"

"An instrumental," Anna grumbled resting her head on her right hand.

Gaius snorted out a laugh, "Fine. I won't subject you to my crooning."

And so, Gaius strummed away at the lute. Soft, pleasant notes drifted over our small camp and spread out over the dead landscape. The warmth of the fire, and the gentle breeze, combined with Gaius's surprisingly great playing, slowly lulled me into a deep sleep.

* * *

I woke the next day to the same gray, dreary sky, and the same dead land around me. The sun started to slowly rise. It was not a vibrant ball of light like in Ylisstol. Instead, it reminded me of sunrises in Wisconsin during the dead of winter. A sunrise that was somehow colder than the night. I shivered and wrapped my cloak tight around my shoulders as I propped myself up and smelled eggs cooking on a skillet.

Anna and Gaius were already awake. Anna had started preparing the cart while Gaius fried some eggs. He nodded to me, and I frowned back.

"You never woke me for my watch shift," I grumbled, rising from my bedroll and stretching my arms over my head.

Gaius shrugged, "This is your first mission, and you looked extra tired. Me and Red handled things just fine last night."

I cocked an eyebrow. Gaius sucked in a sharp breath then wagged his spatula at me.

"Not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter, damn it." He said with a good-natured chuckle

"According to Anna, my mind is always in the gutter," I muttered as Gaius flipped the eggs.

"You did that to yourself!" Anna called over from the wagon.

I rolled my eyes, "She'll never let it go, will she?"

Gaius shrugged and dug into one of his pockets, "She ain't wrong though." He wrenched a pair of wrapped up lollipops and tossed me one. I gave him a surprised look as he unwrapped his and popped it into the corner of his mouth.

"A lollipop?" I narrowed my gaze, "What am I about to do?"

"Nothing," Gaius remarked, twirling the sweet between his teeth. He flicked his eyes towards the rising sun and huffed, "Another day maybe, then we enter Northern Plegia. From there it's maybe three or four more days to the Western Longfort."

My mood sobered significantly at that update. I absently unwrapped the lollipop and stuck it into my mouth. A happy hum managed to slip from my lips as the sweet flavor rushed over my tongue.

"Cherry." I hummed with a smile.

"Only the best." Gaius nodded, "Anna, eggs are done!"

"About time." Anna huffed, marching back over to us. Dead grass crunched beneath her boots as she wiped her hands off on her pants. She snatched her plate from Gaius and jabbed a fork into the eggs, taking a large bite. She nodded to herself, "Not as good as soup."

Gaius sighed, "You can't have soup for breakfast, Anna."

"If you're sick you can." I pointed out, accepting my plate of breakfast from Gaius, "That's the big exception. But if you want my opinion, breakfast sandwiches are the best for mornings."

Anna raised her brow, puzzled. Gaius meanwhile, simply nodded while I froze mid-bite.

"Don't believe I've ever heard of that." Gaius pointed out as he took the skillet away from the fire.

So much for making my claim of amnesia seem credible. Now I had to roll with my mistake. Make it seem like it's just an insignificant little detail that has absolutely nothing to do with my true origins. As nonchalantly as I could manage, I shoveled a huge bite of eggs into my mouth and nodded.

"Yeah." I swallowed my first bite, "Breakfast sandwiches. They're basically like toast, eggs, and bacon rolled into one thing. Or you could do sausage instead of bacon. I've seen some with potatoes on them too. Really just a big grease bomb that sits in your gut like a brick."

Gaius's eyes widened, "That sounds amazing."

I laughed, both releasing nervous tension and enjoying Gaius's dumbfounded look. How long has it been since I enjoyed food like that? Sure, the Palace cooks in Ylisstol made good food, but most of it was the same old thing. The meats were almost always seasoned the same way, with salt and pepper, nothing else. Simple potatoes and vegetables were always the sides. Plain loaves of bread, while delicious, did not make me salivate.

_What I'd give for a Sausage McMuffin. _My mouth watered a little bit, _With cheese… and a large coke._

I need to stop torturing myself like this.

"It really is." I took another bite, "What do you think, Anna?"

Anna's lips twitched. She reached for her waterskin and brought it close to her lips, "You'd get along well with my sister." She simply said before taking a long drink. Once she finished drinking, she quickly scarfed down her breakfast and set her wooden plate down, "Hurry up you two. Don't have a lot of daylight."

I furrowed my brow in confusion as she strode back to the wagon.

"What does she mean by that?" I asked Gaius.

Gaius pressed his lips together as he munched on his last piece of egg. He swallowed, set his plate to the side, and replaced his lollipop into his mouth, "Plegia is a land of darkness now kid. Once we cross that border, it's going to be short days and long nights."

_You make it sound like Mordor… or Alaska. _I thought to myself, managing to slightly amuse myself.

My amusement faded rather quickly as Gaius put out our campfire and scattered the burnt ashes, leaving no trace of our presence in that field. I gathered both of our travel packs then we both trudged towards Anna's cart, where she sat in the driver's seat waiting.

"Wonder if we'll run into anyone looking to buy something," Anna muttered as she gripped the reins while Gaius and I hopped into the back of the cart.

"Always thinking about that bottom line, aren't ya?" Gaius chuckled while I stayed quiet.

"Gold still exists." Anna pointed out. She snapped the reins and the cart rumbled forward, "Even in the apocalypse."

I smiled to myself. Gold still exists in the apocalypse; that was one way to stay sane in this insane world. Maybe I should try and get a mindset like that before I lose my own mind. Hell, I was pretty sure I was already crazy. I had to be kinda crazy in order to be doing what I am doing now; training to be a thief, a scout, in a medieval army that, up until a few months ago, only existed as a video game for me.

_No amount of therapy is going to help me get over this when I get home. _I thought to myself with a sigh, watching the wagon wheels leave trails in the dead grass behind us.

Gaius nudged me with his boot, "Chin up, Sammy." He twirled his lollipop with his teeth, "Save the frowns for Plegia."

I smirked and nodded in agreement

"Saving the frowns for Plegia."

**And chapter! I'll be honest, I did not have much of a plan when I first started writing this story. And I certainly did not think that Gaius and Anna would have such big parts in this story, but damn is it working out well so far! I'm thoroughly enjoying this, and I hope you guys are enjoying it too! Next chapter we'll reach the Longfort and there, we will see what happened to our friend's allies to the north. I do have a storyline in place now. One I've been working the details out for a few weeks now, and I'm very excited to put it in place! It's gonna be one heck of a ride!  
Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Also, come join the Treehouse discord server! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**And! Come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, Narwhal Lord, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts, and we talk about writing, fanfiction, fire emblem, and other random nonsense! You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	9. The Wall

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 9

The Wall

Did you know deserts could get cold? I thought I heard a fun fact about that at one point, but I always thought the type of cold a desert could become was different than the cold I was used to. You see, in Wisconsin, cold has teeth. Well, more like fangs. Very big, sharp, icy fangs that grip you and never let you go. The freezing cold sinks through every layer of clothes and settles into the bones, making it impossible to warm up unless you sit in front of a fire or heater for ten minutes. After that, you might feel your toes again.

The cold in Plegia felt similar. My nose already felt a little numb, but there was a strange subtleness to the cold. It did not have the same bite the cold back home had. This felt darker, more consuming than penetrating. A sinister sensation lingered in the air. Long shadows covered the land as the sun always seemed to be blotted out by an endless expanse of black clouds. When Gaius, Anna, and I entered this desolate place, I thought that it was going to storm. I did not realize that those clouds were the sky, forever covering this place in darkness.

Grima's shadow, that is what Anna called it. A foreboding name for sure. I knew the Fell Dragon was powerful, both from hearsay and from my own experience when I played the game back home. But to actually witness the impact a near deity had on the world was jaw dropping.

I shivered and wrapped my black cloak tighter around my shoulders as a cold wind brushed through Anna's cart. Gaius hardly noticed it as he lounged back against a small crate, hands folded behind his head, a lollipop dangling from the corner of his mouth. His foot nudged my right leg as he sat across from me.

"Hey, Sammy."

I glanced back at him, "Yeah?"

"What are you thinking?"

I frowned back. Honestly, I was not thinking about much. Most of our travels had been dull. Not much happened out in the wilds, even less happened beyond the Ylissean border.

Ylisse was the last peaceful stronghold. Why? I still did not know the answer to that question. I always had the impression that, in game, Grima moved to wipe out Ylisse as quickly as possible. That he left the land a war-torn, desolate landscape. I never considered the possibility that the Fell Dragon actually had to manage a military campaign against a united opponent. Given the average intelligence of a Risen grunt, it now made some sense to me why Grima was taking so long.

But there was still something missing to that equation. If Grima really wanted to, I was certain he could stomp any army with ease. So why was this war being dragged out in Regna Ferox instead of in Ylisse?

"Why did the Fell Dragon stop his assault on Ylisse?" I blurted out.

Gaius pursed his lips and shrugged, "No one really knows. His initial invasion caught us completely off guard. Of course, we were still reeling from the first battle within Plegia itself." A glaze came over his eyes as he lived a terrible day once again. He swallowed hard and shifted in his seat, "If he kept pressing, ol' Grima would've routed us all the way back to Ylisstol. It would've been a quick end to all of this." He glanced out of the back of the cart to the desolate, dry wasteland surrounding us, "Guess the lizard just likes to play with his food."

I grimaced at that. It was one thing to face a villain that pursued a singular goal with unrelenting drive and purpose. It was something completely different to deal with a chaotic enemy that did not care about winning immediately. Gaius's theory cast Grima as patient, calculating, and damn sadistic.

_I really don't want to come face to face with that._

I reached for my water skin and took a quick sip. As I pulled the water away from my lips, the cart started to come to a stop at the crest of a dirty, dry hill. Thin shreds of what used to be grass, but now looked more like sharp straw, lay flat against the ground. Battered to death by the cold, the wind, and the shadows. Sand shifted among those few remaining shreds of plant life. Anna turned around to us from her seat at the front of the cart.

"You're gonna want to see this, Gaius." She said, tone grave.

Gaius grunted as he stepped over several crates and chests, "See what, Red?" He peered out of the front of the cart, "Naga above..."

I swallowed hard and followed Gaius to the front of the cart. What I saw made my face go white with fear.

I saw a massive wall. Or… what remained of a massive wall. It had to be the western section Longfort, but it lay in ruins. Bodies littered the wasteland on both sides of the wall. Piles of ash littered spaces between the bodies. Smoke billowed up into the sky from still smoldering fires in the dry brush near the foot of the wall.

Then there was the massive section of wall that was missing. Blown to pieces by something incredibly powerful. Massive bits of stone were scattered haphazardly all around the area. The broken sections of the wall were charred to a dark black shade.

"Frederick thinks people survived that?" I asked, voice shaking with fear.

"Apparently." Gaius muttered.

"I have my doubts." Anna nodded, "Naga above, I haven't seen anything like this since Themis."

"You know what that means, Red." Gaius gulped.

Anna slowly nodded, "He was here."

I pit formed in my stomach, "Who was here?"

Gaius gave me a grave look, "You know who. Red, get us close to the wall. With any luck, we'll find out more about what exactly happened."

"Gotcha." Anna snapped the reins and the cart rumbled forward.

* * *

In my life, I have had the extreme luck of having never seen a dead person. I mean, my life really has been that dull. Nothing exciting happened, which went both ways for me. No thrills, beyond the occasional football game or big movie release, and no terrors (unless you count nearly getting hit by cars and actually getting hit by a bus as terrors). That luck held strong… until now.

The sight of my first dead body made my stomach flip and my throat constrict as Anna's cart rumbled up towards the blasted apart section of the Longfort. The gray, cracked ground surrounding the area was littered with hundreds of dead bodies. All of them killed in manners grotesque enough to make me sick. Open wounds rotted in the cold air, but there were no buzzards to feast on them. The land was so dead, not even flies lived to feast on the cold, rotting flesh.

"You'd think there would be more of 'em." Gaius muttered as Anna's cart came to a stop by the massive wall.

I paled, "More?"

Gaius nodded as he hopped out of the cart. I followed him out, filled with trepidation.

"Yeah. If the old lizard was here personally, you'd think there would be a lot more bodies."

"Unless Tiki and Khan Flavia ordered an immediate retreat." Anna said as she sat in her seat at the front of the cart, eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the ruined Longfort.

Gaius snorted and motioned at the multitude of bodies and the blasted ruins, "Does it look like there was an immediate retreat?"

I gulped as those two descended into bickering. My eyes were glued to the Longfort. The game never did a very good job of showing the fortress's true size. The scale of this building was absolutely enormous. It easily could've been the eighth wonder of the world back home, rivaling the Great Wall of China. The stone seemed to ascend in a never ending rise high into the dark gray sky. And the sheer scale of it, a wall that stretched so far that it disappeared into the distance in both the east and the west… absolutely mind boggling. To think that something was capable of, not only getting past this monstrosity, but blowing it to absolute pieces, was a terrifying concept to realize.

"Aargh! Shut the hell up Gaius!" Anna bellowed, snapping my attention back to my two companions and teachers.

Gaius quickly retreated to my side, "So I might've said something to piss her off."

"No shit?" I remarked with a nervous laugh.

Gaius nodded, "Yup, is there room in that doghouse you're in?"

"Sorry. One of us has to be outside of it and take the heat from her." I stepped towards the wall, "And it won't be me."

"Why not?" Gaius chirped as he followed me.

"Because I've already taken enough heat from her to warm my body for the next week." I remarked, flicking my eyes up to the wall. My eyes locked with a half blasted apart tower standing precariously at the edge of the blast radius. I glanced at Gaius, who was already smirking at me "Really?"

"Yup." Gaius nodded. He stepped past me and started scaling a section of blown apart wall. He dug his foot into a piece of loose stone and grabbed several handholds, "Up we go, Sammy!"

I huffed, "You do realize if I fall on my ass I'll die right?"

"The trick to avoiding that…" Gaius looked over his shoulder at me, wide grin on his face as he saw my sudden fear, "Is to not fall."

He quickly scampered up the wall, like a squirrel scrambling up a tree. His fingers seemed to find each and every nook and cranny. I uttered a reluctant groan and marched up to the wall, grasping a large handhold and gritting my teeth.

"The trick is to not fall, Sammy." I pulled myself up to the next handhold, arms already trembling from the strain. Did I mention I am terrible at pull-ups? And guess what rock climbing consists a lot of? "That's like saying the trick to not drowning is to swim. Except in my case, I don't know how to swim. Or in this case, rock climbing."

After a few minutes of tedious climbing, involving my clumsy ass carefully moving from one handhold to the next, I flicked my gaze up and saw Gaius clamber up to the top of the wall. He turned around and looked down at me.

"You gonna take all day?"

I scowled back, "Forgive me if I've never done this before!"

"Quit being a little bitch and get up the wall, Sam." Anna snarked, nearly making me fall off of the wall as she easily scaled the wall alongside me.

"I-I-I-" My jaw clenched tight as I watched the merchant make short work of the wall. I cursed under my breath then, with great care, scaled the wall.

Gaius hauled me up over the top when I reached him. For a smaller guy, barely taller than me, Gaius had a lot of strength in his thin body. He easily yanked me up onto the wall. As soon as my feet touched solid ground again, a weight lifted off of my shoulders.

"Afraid of heights?" Gaius asked jokingly as he sauntered towards the broken tower, where Anna was waiting for us.

"No, more like afraid of falling." I replied as I followed him.

All three of us moved into the tower. Several bodies lay slumped near the splintered doorway. Gaius knelt down beside on and pressed his fingers to the soldier's neck.

"Dead for a while now." Gaius glanced over at Anna, "Still, how the hell did Butch get to us so fast? She'd have to take the most direct route?"

Anna shrugged as she stepped over a partially burnt, tipped over table. Her eyes turned to the stairs that ascended the tower from the inside. She furrowed her brow and sniffed.

"They've been dead a while, but why does the smoke smell fresh?" She wondered out loud.

I swallowed hard, my right hand twitching towards my handaxe strapped to my hip. Everything about this situation felt wrong. The bodies were long dead, but the smoke smelled fresh according to Anna. A sinking feeling sat in my gut. One that made me shift nervously from one foot to the other. I glanced behind me at the massive gap in the Longfort.

"Question." I began, "What if that was made recently?"

Gaius raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Like, what if the battle happened, then Grima blew up the wall once he won?"

The thief's brow furrowed, "Why would he-" His eyes widened, "Red, we need to go!"

"I was just thinking the same-"

An icy wind shot through the tower, making me shiver. Goosebumps formed on my skin as a low moan drifted on the wind, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. My heart pounded in my chest as the moan grew into a shrill shriek. Metal scraped against boiled leather, making me jump where I stood. Both Anna and Gaius had their shortswords drawn.

"Back to the cart!" Gaius hissed, rushing out of the tower with me and Anna following.

We rushed out of the tower, got to the edge, then came to a screeching halt as several bodies on the wall began to twitch. Black mist, like a fine powdery ash, swirled around the fallen Feroxi soldiers, turning the deathly pale skin an unnatural gray. Shivers ran up and down my spine as I watched a dead man's eyes flick open, filled with a hideous scarlet glow.

"Red, get to the cart!" Gaius cried. He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me towards the edge, "Time to get over that fear of falling. Go!"

He did not have to tell me twice. I immediately started scrambling down the broken wall as fast as I could. Anna descended the wall with practiced ease. Once I got halfway down, I heard snarls above me and steel clashing against steel below me. Gaius slid over the broken section of the wall and came falling down towards me, only to reach out and snag a handhold before he could plummet to his death. He grunted as his body jerked to a stop, adjusted his grip on the wall, and started scrambling down by my side.

More snarls and growls below me, I glanced down. Anna was clearing a path back to the cart, but more bodies were rising from the dead. Each one of them covered in that fine ash. Eyes glowing an intense, animalistic red.

"Hurry up!" Anna cried at the base of the wall.

Gaius and I reached the bottom at the same time. In my head, I was cursing my slow movements down the wall. It was valuable time lost. Time that could have been used to sprint back to the cart and outrun the dead. I did not have much time to curse myself thought. A Risen with a sharp, iron ax locked eyes with me and charge.

I gulped and drew my handaxe. The Risen uttered a shriek that made me backpedal into Gaius. Gaius hardly flinched as he spun around me and buried his shortsword into the Risen's neck.

"To the cart, Sammy!" Gaius barked.

I spun around and ran as fast as my feet could carry me. Growls, snarls, and shrieks filled the air around me as I ran. A blur of red shot by me. Anna jumped into the seat of her cart, grabbing the reins.

"Gaius!" She shouted.

I glanced over my shoulder as I jumped up onto the back of the cart. Gaius was slowly making his way back to us, shortsword twirling as he bought us time to reach our only way of escape. But it would not be that way long. More and more of the hundreds of dead soldiers were filled with ash. A few Risen, turned into a few dozen. If any more rose before we started running, we would have no chance of escaping.

Gaius needed to turn and run now. But if he did, he risked being cut down from behind. The Risen were moving faster, and more aggressive, as their numbers swelled. Two Risen charged towards Gaius's left, and he did not notice. I opened my mouth to shout at him. Let him know that two were flanking him. Before I could raise my voice, a flurry of arrows shot through the air, felling half a dozen Risen around Gaius.

War cries erupted around us. Loud yells that made my hair stand on end once again, but not out of fear. Feroxi soldiers in beat up, rust colored armor emerged from the other side of the ruined Longfort. At the lead were heavily armored soldiers wielding wicked steel lancers. Leading those lancers was a grizzled, blonde woman with several hideous scars on her face and an eyepatch covering her right eye.

"Thank Naga." Anna breathed.

She snapped the reins, urging the horses towards the gap in the wall. I stumbled as the cart lurched, nearly falling out of the back.

"Grab Gaius!" Anna shouted back at me as the cart gained speed, charging right at the Feroxi breaking through the gap and slamming into the rising monsters.

"How!?"

"With your hands!" Anna shouted back.

My eyes widened. I swallowed hard, looked at the covering over the cart, and gripped the canvas tight in my left hand.

_I've only seen this in Hollywood and Mythbusters, _I took a deep breath and held it, squashing the fear that raged in my heart and gut. _Here goes nothing._

I leaned out of the cart, left hand holding on for dear life as I reached out towards Gaius with my right hand. The cart bumped and bounced along the ground, threatening to buck me off like an angry bull. My left hand turned into a vice as fear lanced through my heart with every jostle. One Risen tried to get in the cart's way and cut me down. A throwing knife ended it's short lived existence.

_Thank you, Anna._

Gaius spun around in time to see my outstretched hand. When he grabbed onto it, I felt like he was about to tear my arm clean out of its socket. I let out a sharp cry as I lifted the thief off of his feet and swung him backwards towards the back of the cart. My shoulder popped and I squeezed my eyes shut, biting back a curse. Gaius's weight left my arm when he was safely on the cart; and he returned the favor, yanking me back in by the hood of my cloak.

I hissed when I hit the cart floor. My entire right arm felt numb.

"You've got a knack for getting hurt, don't ya?" Gaius chuckled as he patted my good shoulder, "Thanks for the save."

I wheezed and nodded. Anna snapped the reins again, spurring her horse to run faster through the gap in the wall. Behind us, the Feroxi soldiers slowly retreated, following us through the gap. Using the constricted passageway to bottleneck the risen and wipe them out one by one. Once they passed through the Longfort, a flurry of fireballs hammered against the Risen. Igniting the dry ground and preventing most of those monsters from following us through the gap.

"Figured out where the smoke was coming from." I winced.

Gaius nodded, "Yeah." He looked at my right arm and winced, "Look at me a moment." he said as he took my right shoulder in his hands.

"Wh-AAAAAHHH!"

He twisted my shoulder, popping it back into place. Pain rushed through my arm, lancing up my neck all the way to the back of my head. I clenched my teeth and bowed my head, groaning from the sudden, sharp pain.

Gaius snickered once again, "There, returned the favor."

"You couldn't have counted to three or something?" I whimpered, gingerly giving my shoulder small roll. I winced as it ached from the motion, but at least I had feeling in it again.

"Padre always said doing anything with limbs hurts less when the patient doesn't know the pain is coming."

I raised an eyebrow, "Padre?"

"He means Libra." Anna spoke up from the front, "You'll meet him soon." She glanced past us, "Looks like our Feroxi friends drove off those Risen."

She pulled on the reins, forcing the horse to slow to an easy trot, then to a light walk, allowing the Lancers to catch up to us. Joining the Lancers ranks were several men and women in blue and tan robes. Heavy tomes rested in the crooks of their arms as they faced our rear, ready to fire off more magic at any Risen that decided to pursue.

The heavily scarred blonde woman in heavy army strolled towards our cart as we came to a stop. The butt of her lance dug into the earth as she stomped towards us. As she got closer, I got a better look at her, and realized those scars were from burns. Lumpy, pale and pink skin spiderwebbed along her jaw and over the right side of her face, giving me a good idea of why she needed the eyepatch. Hell, it it wasn't for the accentuated… parts… of her heavy armor, I would have assumed her to be a grizzled man instead of a woman.

_Shows how much I know._

"Raimi?" Anna shoved her way past me and Gaius, "Is that you?"

The short haired woman stopped walking, spat in the dirt, and nodded, "Good to see you too, Anna." Her voice gravelly as she spoke.

I stared wide eyed at the woman. Raimi, the boss from… from what chapter again? God, why did not replay Awakening before this entire mess?

_Because you never thought you would be yanked into this world after getting hit by a bus, that's why._

Regardless, I knew she was an accomplished Feroxi commander. A captain of the Feroxi Lancers, who I assumed were the Feroxi version of special forces. And it made sense. Her group of soldiers looked very rough around the edges. Many of them wore dented, scarred armor. But their weapons were impeccable. All of them had the same sharp glare in their eyes that told me they were not to be trifled with. And Raimi had the sharpest glare of the bunch, despite having only one eye.

Anna hopped out of the cart, clapped her hands together as she wiped dirt from them.

"So…" Anna smirked, "What can I do for you? Need some new swords? Daggers? A shield or two?"

Gaius sighed, "Always looking to sell." He rolled his eyes, making me chuckle, "Not now, Red! Got a mission to do."

"I can multitask." Anna put a finger to her chin, "And it looks like you could use a good vulnerary, Captain."

Raimi scowled at Anna, making Anna cringed.

"Or not." The merchant laughed nervously.

"I assume you three are the advance scouts." She raised her gaze to me and Gaius. Gaius waved back while I shrank beneath her penetrating stare, "Nice to see you again, Gaius."

"You too, Cap." Gaius chirped, hopping out of the cart and wiping his hands on his shirt, "Thanks for saving our asses there. Would've been a hairy chase otherwise."

Raimi smirked a little bit, "You're most welcome. The living have to look out for each other nowadays. You're lucky we were still here. Another hour or so, and we would've been on our way to Arena Ferox."

"Why weren't you heading there already?" Anna asked, resting her hands on her hips.

Raimi shrugged, "Unfinished business." She flicked her eyes around, as if making sure we were not being watched. She turned to one of her soldiers, "Set up camp. We're too small a group for them to worry about tonight."

"You sure about that?" Gaius asked.

Raimi nodded, "The Fell Dragon is focused on advancing as far inland as he can. He won't waste time on us stragglers. And if he does, well… that's shit luck on our part. Besides, my men haven't eaten in several days, and I was hoping you could-"

Anna's eyes lit up, "For a reasonable pri-"

"We've got extra soup, right Anna?" Gaius interrupted.

Anna's mouth opened, closed, then opened again. She flicked her eyes back to Raimi, who gave her a hard stare. The merchant laughed nervously as she eyed the hungry soldiers nearby.

"Of course." Anna said through clenched teeth, "I just love _giving _away soup."

"Splendid!" Gaius smacked Anna's back, "You are such a charitable person."

I snorted back in the cart and moved to grab the soup crate. Anna, charitable? Sure, and I'm a great warrior who didn't just piss his pants five minutes ago.

* * *

A warm campfire crackled in the night air, helping all of us fend off the cold. I kept my cloak wrapped tight over my shoulders while my hands hovered near the flickering flames. Silent thankful mutters to whatever deity existed slipped from my lips every few minutes as I warmed myself. I may be used to cold, but back home I also had the advantage of modern cold weather gear. A good pair of winter boots, a heavy Carhartt jacket, some wool lined gloves, and a knit hat did wonders to fend off winter's grip. In this world, I had none of those luxuries.

It was amazing how much can be taken for granted. Now that I lived in a world without gas powered heat or even winter boots, I realized just how spoiled I really was in my old life; even though I lived in a dingy apartment back home and could barely afford the McDonald's dollar menu at times.

"Sammy."

I glanced up from the fire to see a wooden bowl of hot vegetable soup being held out to me. I nodded at Gaius and took the soup, a content sigh slipping from my lips as the hot bowl warmed my hands even more.

"I'm surprised we are having fires tonight." I remarked as I looked around at the four or five other campfires in the area, "Given those… things."

Gaius shrugged, "Can't eat cold soup, right? Besides, if the Risen want us dead badly enough, they can find us, even in the dark. Might as well be comfortable and keep a good watch."

I scooped a spoonful of soup and allowed the broth to warm my insides. A happy sigh left my lips, "Makes sense to me."

I swirled the spoon in my soup then looked across the campfire to both Anna and Raimi. The pair had been talking fervently since the campfires were sparked by the mages in Raimi's company. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but I assumed it had something to do with our mission. That, or Anna was trying to get Raimi to buy supplies off of her.

_Probably both. _I thought to myself.

Anna nodded at Raimi then peeled herself away from the Feroxi captain. She slid up beside Gaius and gratefully accepted a bowl of soup from the thief. She wolfed down a few spoonfuls while Gaius and I waited for her to tell us about her conversation with Raimi. She paused mid bite and looked at us.

"What?" She asked.

"What did you learn?" Me and Gaius asked simultaneously.

Gaius punched my bad shoulder, making me wince, "You owe me a lollipop."

"The expression involves po-" I bit my tongue, realizing what I was about to say. My two friends did not seem to notice, but I couldn't be too careful. I mentally berated myself for nearly slipping up again.

_Gotta be more careful._

Anna nodded and took another bite of soup. She munched on some large chunks of vegetables for a minute, swallowed, then cleared her throat.

"There was one heck of a battle here not long ago. We were winning when the Deadlords showed up and changed the tide." Anna explained, "Towards the end of the battle, Princess Lucina led a charge into the enemy ranks, in order to buy Tiki and Khan Flavia time to fall back."

Gaius cursed, "Stupid kid!"

Anna nodded, "I agree. She should know better." Anna shook her head, "The charge failed, those are the bodies we see right now. As for the wall's destruction, that happened afterwards. Raimi did not see how it happened, but she believed the Fell Dragon did it as a show of force."

Gaius grimaced, "If he's captured Lucina, it was probably intended to terrify her." He shook his head, "Assuming she's still alive."

I furrowed my brow, "Why wouldn't she be?"

Both Gaius and Anna turned to look at me.

"I-I mean… er-" My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to follow up that statement, "She's the enemy Princess right? I'm guessing she'd be a valuable hostage for Grima?"

"Grima doesn't care about hostages." Gaius snorted.

"Because none have been valuable to him." Anna muttered as she looked back into the campfire, "Great minds think alike it seems. Grima sees Lucina as valuable, that's why we haven't found a body here yet. She's alive, and in his clutches."

"But where?" Gaius asked.

Anna shrugged, "Probably further into Regna Ferox. The Longfort has been breached. It won't be long now."

I gulped, "Long before what?"

Anna let go of her spoon, letting it sit a moment in the hot broth of her soup, "Before this country falls and Ylisse stands alone."

"No. It won't happen that easily." Gaius argued back, voice laced with anger, "Flavia is too stubborn to let that happen."

"Doesn't matter how stubborn she is, Gaius." Anna replied, calmly, "Lucina is captured, which neuters our ability to strike back, lest we provoke the Fell Dragon's wrath against her. The Feroxi are clearly in disarray in the south of their country, which means Grima's campaign against them is paying off." She set her bowl down at her feet, "We still don't even know why he's fighting this war against Regna Ferox."

"Taking out the best warriors first?" I suggested, "Getting the hard fight over with?"

"Maybe." Anna worked her jaw back and forth, "But mere human strength would not give Grima any fear. No… he's got another motive for fighting here instead of Ylisse. Maybe he's just playing with his food and getting some entertainment out of dragging this war out?" She shrugged, "I don't know. What I do know, is that I should've gotten on a boat and sailed beyond the eastern sea a long time ago. Would have avoided this mess entirely."

"You like us too much." Gaius smirked back as he took his first bite of soup. He swallowed and winked at me, "Some more than others."

"Pretty sure I'm high up on Anna's shit list." I pointed out.

Anna shrugged, "You did alright today. Saved Gaius's life and all, so good job." She picked up her bowl of soup and swirled the broth with her spoon, "Just don't be so slow moving around next time."

I nodded in agreement. Anna was absolutely right. I was moving way to slow on the battlefield today. Luck was the only reason I was still breathing. My fear kept me from scrambling up and down the wall with reckless abandon. I knew that. In my old life, fear of the unknown kept me from doing a lot of things. It seems jumping into another world did not change that aspect of my personality.

"You'll get better at it, Sammy." Gaius sipped on his broth. He gasped and smiled, "If ya don't, well… you'll be dead." He chuckled at my nervous expression, "Like the kids back home keep saying, you're a survivor. Survivors have this weird luck about them." He blinked, "That's it! I have a nickname for you now!"

"Isn't it Sammy?" I asked.

"That's your name, not your nickname." Gaius argued back, "That'd be like me calling Red, Ann instead of Anna."

"Don't you dare start doing that." Anna frowned.

"I learned my lesson the first time, don't worry." Gaius replied, "As for you Sammy, you're Lucky now."

I snorted, "Lucky?"

_How is getting hit by a bus and being sent to Medieval Fantasy Fun Time Land considered lucky? _I thought for a moment, _Then again, could've ended up in Westeros, I guess. Maybe I am lucky._

"So, what's next?" I asked.

Gaius worked his jaw back and forth, "You and Red are going with Raimi to Arena Ferox. Link up with Freddy and the Exalt there."

Anna furrowed her brow, "And you?"

Gaius smirked, "I've got a princess to rescue."

Anna rolled her eyes, "Don't play the hero now, Gaius."

Gaius threw his head back and laughed, "When have I ever played the hero, Red? That's not our job." He shook his head, still chuckling, "I'm going to figure out where she is being held. Once I do that, I'll regroup with you guys, then we can rescue her. I have a feeling Freddy's going to want to lead that mission personally."

"Can you handle being on your own like that?" I asked.

Gaius's eyes sparkled, "Haven't been caught before. Doubt I'll be caught now. This was my livelihood for a long time, Lucky." I sighed as he called me by my new nickname, "Besides, I'm harder to catch on my own."

Anna sighed, "Not wrong there." She eyed the thief, "I'm guessing you'll be slipping off tonight?"

Gaius nodded, "Probably."

"Well then," Anna nodded, "I wish you the best of luck. And stay safe."

"Aw," Gaius put a tender hand to his chest, "I'm touched by your concern, Red." Gaius smirked back at Anna as she rolled her eyes, "It's so rare to hear that from you."

I laughed with him as Anna glared back at the thief. Gaius started to gather supplies from the cart while Anna and I finished up our dinner. Once we finished eating, I took our bowls back to the cart as Gaius buckled a second travel pack up and slung it over his shoulder.

"Seriously, Gaius. Be careful." I muttered, shoving the dirty bowls into the cart.

Gaius smirked and patted my shoulder, "You and Red worry too much. It'll take more than an overgrown lizard and his ash faced freaks to take me down. You two just do your jobs, I'll do mine, and we'll come out of this okay, okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Good." He turned to start walking away but paused, "Red's right, Lucky. You did good today. Saved my ass, and I'm grateful." He reached into a pocket and tossed me a lollipop. I caught it out of the air and smiled back, "There's more where that came from."

Before I could say anything else, Gaius turned and slipped into the darkness. Within mere moments, he disappeared, as if he was never there in the first place. It still stunned me how easily he could slip into the shadows like that. Part of me believed he might have an enchanted artifact of some sort helping him out. If such a thing actually existed in this world, that is.

_Wouldn't surprise me._

I glanced over at Anna, who was already curling up next to our fire. Eyes closed, breathing even as she drifted off. Which left me to keep watch over our part of the camp and the cart. Not a bad thing, I was used to staying up a little late. Besides, I still felt way too on edge to just fall asleep right now.

So I walked back to the fire, took a seat, and drew my long dagger, staring into my reflection in the blade as flames danced in front of me. A youthful, naive face stared back at me. In my heart, I knew it would not be that way for long. Not if Grima had anything to say about it.

**And chapter! We're starting to get into the action of this story now, and it is going to be fun! Sam is becoming a very fun character for me to write, even though I still haven't nailed down his personality exactly yet. But his interactions with Gaius and Anna have done wonders to help me with that. Also, writing in the first person is turning out to be very fun too. I do hope I'm doing a decent job at it (considering I've only ever written in the third person before this story). We'll see how the rest of this goes, but I'm having fun so far, and I hope you all are too!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord Code is: 9XG3U7a**


	10. Bad Liar

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 10

Bad Liar

It was amazing how much changed without Gaius riding in the cart with me. For one, I had no one to make idle conversation with. The thief was always a fun conversationalist, bouncing from topic to topic with reckless abandon. Oftentimes it was difficult to keep up with him. Easy talking always made the nervous tension I felt about this entire situation subside, and Gaius probably knew that. Anna, however, was not a big talker. Not with me at least; for good, obvious reasons. Did I believe she was overreacting still? Yes. Did I blame her? Not really.

As for the band of Feroxi soldiers marching alongside Anna's cart, none of them were interested in chatting either. Most of them looked like they had been to hell and back. All of their armor fit loose over thing frames. Many had sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. A few walked with obvious limps. Honestly it was impressive they could all walk at all. I felt like I was looking at one of those pictures of soldiers marching during World War II, from an old history book back home. The Feroxi men and women all had the thousand yard stares as they marched.

The only one of them that seemed present during the march was their commander, Captain Raimi. A woman that intimidated me beyond belief. Not just because of her looks. I was pretty sure the scars and general grit she displayed would make even the toughest of guys back home anxious around her. She carried an aura of command and no nonsense that I, frankly, did not feel entirely comfortable around. The few words we exchanged were cold and direct. Nothing wrong with that, but it did little to take my mind off of the desperate situation we were all in.

Grima has broken through the Longfort, and his host with him. Anna was spurring her cart with all haste towards Arena Ferox, where we expected to meet up with Exalt Lissa, Frederick, and (if I heard correctly) Khan Flavia. I could only hope that we would get there soon and not run into any more Risen. As brave and fearsome as the Feroxi were, they looked exhausted. Anna was a hell of a fighter, but she could not fend off a horde of Risen on her own. And me… well… the less said about my fighting skills the better.

I uttered a long sigh and stared across the cart at the empty spot Gaius used to occupy.

"You having breathing problems back there?"

I nearly jumped out of my seat as Anna spoke to me for the first time in what felt like days.

"I'm sorry?"

Her red eyes glanced back at me, "It's that with how often you've been sighing, I assumed you were struggling to breathe."

I arched an eyebrow, "I'm not sure if you are genuinely concerned or mocking me."

Anna shrugged as she spun back around to face the dirt road, "A bit of both." She admitted before tapping the open space on the bench beside her, "Get up here already. I'm tired of hearing you huff."

I hesitated a moment. Anna never allowed anyone to ride up alongside her, not even Gaius. Then again, her and Gaius constantly got on each other's nerves, so it made sense for her to limit the amount of time she spent near him. Maybe Anna was finally letting bygones be bygones? I could only hope I was that lucky. Gaius seemed to think I was. Maybe this would convince me of the same.

I wriggled my way past several crates loaded with knives and swords, bumping my knee and funny bone in the process. I hissed then flopped down on the bench beside Anna.

"Graceful as ever." Anna remarked as she held the reins.

"It's a bit cluttered back there." I replied, a little annoyed.

"You saying I'm disorganized?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

I pursed my lips. Had to be careful now. One wrong word, and it was back to the rear of the cart.

_That might not be a bad thing if this conversation goes south actually._

Anna let out a quiet chuckle as I struggled to figure out a response, "Eh, you're not wrong." She leaned back in her seat, "I was more organized before this world went to absolute shit."

I drew back, "Really?"

She nodded, "Had more time to focus on keeping the merchandise nice and tidy. But… when you are constantly on the lookout for Risen, dark mages, or both, organization takes a backseat to survival." She sighed, "I really should've gotten on that boat."

"Why didn't you?" I asked.

"Why didn't I leave?" Anna pressed her lips into a thin line as she thought for a moment. "I don't exactly know why I stayed."

"Heh, maybe it's because you're actually friends with the Shepherds?" I remarked, lacing my fingers behind my head as I leaned back, starting to get used to being around Anna a little bit.

A sad smile crossed her lips, which surprised me, because it meant I was right.

"Yeah, I guess." She breathed, "They all knew I wasn't the best person in the world, but did Prince Chrom and Robin care? Nope, they did not." She flicked her eyes over to me, "Those two were always way too trusting."

I nodded, "Yup."

Her eyes suddenly hardened, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

"I-I mean that's what I've heard around-"

She snapped the reins hard, forcing her horse into a gallop. I bounced in my seat, nearly flying off out of it as the sudden lurch from the cart caught me off guard. None of the Feroxi seemed to mind that we sped up and moved further ahead of them. They were probably too exhausted to care. But I sure as hell cared. There was a sharpness to Anna's gaze that told me I screwed up. I said something I shouldn't have.

She yanked on the reins, slowing her horse down to an easy trot. A cloud of dust wafted up around us as the cart wheels rumbled along the dusty road. I swallowed hard as Anna stared ahead, jaw tight.

"Lissa and the others almost never talk about Chrom and Robin." She said, voice stiff, "I doubt the kids told you they were too trusting, because most of them hardly knew them too."

I gulped, "Well, uh, you know Gaius he-"

"Cut the crap." Anna snapped, "Gaius doesn't even talk about them. It… it hurts too much for him." I noticed her fingers wrap around the grip to one of her daggers strapped to her belt, "You have exactly three seconds to start talking."

I paled, "Talking about what?"

"Three…"

Sweat beaded on my brow, "Look, Anna, what the hell are you doing? I'm not a bad guy."

Her eyes narrowed and she began to draw the dagger. The steel scrapped against the leather scabbard slowly, as if Anna was purposefully playing on my fears by dragging the noise out.

"Two…"

"Anna, I have amnesia what am I supposed to tell-"

She slammed the point of the dagger down between my legs. My eyes went wide as I stared down at the perfectly polished steel jammed into the bench, mere centimeters from turning me into this world's version of Theon Greyjoy.

"You are a terrible liar, Sam." She snarled, "Last chance."

She yanked the dagger free and flicked it up to my neck before I could blink. I froze as cold still kissed my throat. My throat bobbed as I stared at the point pressed against my neck, a terrified reflection looked back at me.

"C-can you at least give me some context as to why you-"

"Gaius started to think you were playing us when you mentioned him sounding like your mother." Anna growled, "Now, how can an amnesiac remember what their mother sounds like?" My face lost all color, "I shrugged it off at first. It's a pretty common expression after all. Gaius ran with it as well, mostly because he likes you. However, I'm not so trusting. So while he will let you get away with mother talk, breakfast sandwiches, and whatever the hell you actually know about the Shepherds, I will not. For all I know, you are an enemy agent."

"Wh-what?" I sputtered.

"It's a little difficult to believe that someone can be as lucky as you when it comes to this world." Anna snarled, pressing the point of the blade harder against my throat. I flinched as I felt the tip prick my skin, drawing a small bead of red, "Maybe the Risen just know not to kill you? What better way for Grima to know what we're doing than to plant someone right in our midst."

"You're nuts!" I cried.

"Insult me again, and I end your trip real quick."

I swallowed hard. I wanted to start shaking with fear, but if I moved even a single muscle, my throat would be cut. I saw that look in Anna's eyes. It was a look that demanded answers. If I did not give them, I was dead, and she would not feel anything afterwards. I was looking into the eyes of a killer, not a merchant.

"So," She continued, "Am I about to end your life?"

My mind raced. There had to be a way out of this. The amnesia excuse wouldn't work anymore. Anna did not believe it in the slightest. And she just pointed out her evidence, which was convincing.

"Well um-"

"Don't you dare bullshit me." Anna growled, "I will know if you are."

Sweat pooled in the creases of my palms as I remained frozen in my seat. The bead of blood drawn by her blade dripped down my neck, soaking into the collar of my shirt. Another bead slowly followed it, reminding me of how close to death I really was.

_There's only one way out._

"Promise you won't kill me?" I whimpered.

"I'm not making that-"

"Because you'll think I'm either insane or lying." I cut her off quickly, "But I really am telling you the truth."

Anna quirked an eyebrow. I flicked my eyes to the dagger at my throat.

"Do you mind um… taking that away. It's making it difficult to ta-" She added a touch more pressure, "F-fine. Do your thing."

"Who are you?" She growled, the clopping of horse hooves against the ground drowning out our conversation to the rest of the world.

"That I did not lie about." I answered quickly, "My name is Samuel Wheeler."

"So you have been lying." Anna hissed. Her knuckles turned white on the hilt of her dagger, "I should cut your throat now."

"And I have no idea how I wound up here!" He followed up quickly, "One moment I was walking to the bus stop, then I slipped on some ice, got hit by the very bus I was trying to catch, then I woke up outside of Southtown. Technically, I'm probably supposed to be dead. Very, very dead."

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the dagger to slash through my throat. But the stomach flipping sensation of a dagger cutting me open did not come. Instead, the pressure lightened, causing me to blink one eye open.

"The hell is a bus?" Anna asked, a completely incredulous look on her face.

I blinked, "That's what you're hung up on?"

Anna shook her head, "What you just said makes no sense to me. So you are doing one of three things: Speaking gibberish; which would not surprise me, this is you we are talking about."

"Ouch." I grumbled.

"Lying, again, which would be exceptionally ballsy for you. In fact, you don't have the guts to do that. Unless you've been playing one fantastic act and deceiving me about your true nature this entire time."

I pressed my lips into a thin line, "You're probably giving me way too much credit there."

"Exactly." Anna replied, "So that leaves option three: you're telling me a truth so outlandish that it sounds like a lie."

I wanted to nod my head, but froze as I remembered there was a sharp, pointy, send me to heaven or hell early, shard of metal pressed to my neck. So instead of nodding, I gave Anna a sheepish smile.

"There's the truth."

Anna blinked, "So… so…"

She narrowed her eyes at me, studying my face for a moment. A long sigh left her lips and the dagger fell away from my throat. I uttered a loud exhale, finally releasing the breath I had been holding. One of my hands reached up and rubbed at my neck, smearing a few drops of blood along my pale throat. I flinched as the spot the dagger dug into stung.

"Let the air get to it." Anna huffed as she sheathed her dagger.

I stared at her in shock. My hand fell away from my neck, "You believe me? Just like that?"

"I jammed a dagger near your balls, then pressed it to your throat." Anna muttered, "You'd have to be quite the gambler if you just lied to me. I doubt you did. There's way too much terror in your eyes."

"You can be a terrifying person." I breathed.

"Thanks for the compliment." She mumbled, reaching for a skin of water and taking a small sip.

"In this instance, that is the furthest thing from a compliment." I replied, hissing as the cut on my neck stung again.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Quit whining. It gets annoying after a while." She leaned back in her seat again, somehow totally relaxed once more.

I gaped at her, "I think I have very good reason to whine right now." She closed her eyes and let out a quiet groan as I spoke, "You nearly killed me."

"Give me a break. I got you to tell me the truth." Anna replied, sitting upright and staring hard at me. Making me shrink beneath her stern gaze, "Something you should've done from the start."

Guilt shot through me at that. She wasn't wrong. I grew up being taught to always tell the truth. That telling the truth was the best option in any situation where I had a choice between that and a lie. But I had been so terrified upon ending up in this world, that I threw any life lessons on morality out the window in order to survive.

_Does that make me a bad person? _I wondered.

"So," Anna took a deep breath, focusing her attention back on the road in front of us, "Care to tell me what a bus is?"

I groaned, running a hand through my brown hair. My fingers got snagged on a knot near the back of my head.

_I really need to cut it now that I think about it._

"Sam!" Anna snapped her fingers, bringing me back to reality, "Focus. You zone out too easily."

I snorted, "God you sound like my parents now."

"Ah," Anna nodded, "You definitely aren't an amnesiac."

"No, I'm not." I rubbed the back of my neck, "As for a bus, think um… how do I put it in terms you'll understand."

Anna furrowed her brow, "Are you assuming I'm stupid?"

"No, I'm assuming you'd have no comprehension of advanced technology." I replied, "At least, it'd be advanced for this world." I laughed to myself, "In my world, a bus is the lesser form of transportation."

Anna arched an eyebrow, "Your world?"

I nodded, "I'm pretty sure I'm from a different world than this one."

Now she looked at me like I was crazy. Should've seen that coming. Hell, back home, there were special hospitals for people who thought they were from a different plane of existence.

_Do those exist here? _I grimaced, _I hope not._

"Okay," Anna breathed, "Say I believe you, as crazy as this all sounds. What proof do you have?"

I held up a finger, "One second."

I jumped back into the cart, shimmied by some crates, not so accidentally kicked Clucker's cage again, then reached for my travel pack. A leather bag that contained everything I could possibly need on a mission, from food rations and medical supplies, to an extra dagger in case one of mine broke. But I also made certain to pack the one thing that would give away my act if anyone found it: my phone.

I snatched it and paused, marveling at how unfamiliar it now felt in my hands. The screen did not turn on when my thumb brushed over it. Not surprising given it had not been charged in a couple months. Which meant using this to prove to Anna I was telling the truth would be risky, because I could not turn it on. For all I knew, she'd think it was some weird paperweight.

_I mean, _I carefully made my way back over to the front of the cart, ignoring Cluckers' squawks at me as I passed by, _That's basically all it is anymore._

I took my seat again and held the black iphone up for Anna to see. Anna arched an eyebrow.

"What am I looking at?"

"This is a phone." I replied, nonchalantly.

She rolled her eyes, "Your acting like I'm supposed to know what that is."

"No," I smirked a little bit, "I'm just enjoying being smarter than you at something for once." My smirk faded as she scowled at me. I cleared my throat, "No need for a dagger, trust me."

"The liar telling me to trust him. Gee, that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all." Anna snipped back.

I bobbed my head, "Point taken but- well-"

How does someone explain an iphone to a medieval merchant? It'd be like Anna trying to explain a sword to a caveman. There was no guarantee that she'd even understand the terminology I would use to explain it.

"It's um…" I pursed my lips, "You know something, it's actually kinda difficult to explain."

Anna sniffed the air, "I detect faint scents of bull coming from you."

I gulped, "I'm not lying to you." I tapped the screen, "It needs power to work." She gave me a puzzled look. I sighed back, "Electricity." An even more puzzled expression. I smacked my forehead, "Lightning?"

Anna blinked, "That thing needs lightning?" She quickly handed my the reins to the horses. I fumbled with them a moment, trying to hold both the reins and my phone at the same time. I heard her rummaging through something in the back. She let out a victorious sound, then returned with a yellow book in her hands, "Thunder tome." She said.

I blinked, "Uh… not sure if that'll."

She flicked the book open, "Hold still."

Panic shot through me, "Hold on that is-"

A yellow bolt of lightning slammed into me and my phone. I screamed as I flew off of the cart, hit the dirt, and rolled several feet away. Static buzzed all over me as I rolled to a stop. I lay still, face down for a moment. Head spinning, vision blurry. Every nerve in my body felt like it had been set on fire. A long groan slipped from my lips.

Then the hiccups started.

"Great…" I winced, rolling over onto my back. I jumped as more static shot through my body. My eyes shut and I hiccuped again, "Just great."

A horse snorted in my face, then a warm, wet tongue ran over my closed eyes, making me groan once more. A pair of feet landed on the ground beside me. I cracked my eyes open and stared up at a thoroughly amused Anna.

"So, did it work?"

I stared at her, not sure whether to be angry, scared, or stunned. I raised my phone towards my face, hand trembling as I moved. My thumb pressed down on the power button. I waited a moment… then the white apple appeared on screen.

"Holy shit, it did." I breathed.

"Oh good, you're in pain." Anna chuckled.

My jaw fell open as I stayed lying down. Anna sauntered back to the cart and hopped back up into her seat. Fury shot through me as I surged to my feet, nearly headbutting the horse in the process.

"You- you-" I pointed my phone at her, "Fuck you!"

"There's a long line for that, buddy." Anna smirked back, "You'll have to wait."

My face turned dark red, "I- I didn't- you-" A loud, frustrated scream rushed from my lungs.

Anna kept chuckling at me, "This is a fantastic tantrum and all, but we really need to keep going. Get back up here already."

I climbed back up onto the bench beside the current bane of my existence, face still red from both embarrassment and anger. I glared back at her as she continued laughing. She hung her head, shoulders shuddering, before snapping the reins.

"Oh Naga," Anna breathed, "It's been a while since I laughed like that." She winked at me, "That's for Cluckers, for lying, and for grabbing my boob."

I glared back, "I can't even begin to describe how pissed I am right now."

She smirked back, "That's your problem now, isn't it?" She nodded to the black phone in my hands, "Alright, what is this thing?"

I uttered a long sigh, hiccuped again, which made Anna snicker, then held up my phone; screen facing her, "This," I pressed my thumb against the power button, bringing the screen to life. Anna's mouth fell open when the screen winked on, "Is an iphone."

As quick as the lightning that hit me, her hand shot out and snatched the phone from my grasp.

"Hey!" I cried.

Anna pulled the phone close to her face, eyes glued to the bright screen. I cringed as her nose nearly brushed against the glass.

"You know you could hurt your vision if you hold it that close."

She held it further back, "What manner of magic is this?"

I stifled a loud laugh, "It's not magic, it's technology." I reached by her and tapped the home button, bringing up the lock screen. The screen felt scorching hot as my finger tapped against it, which was not a good sign. I quickly entered my combo and unlocked the phone, bringing up the home screen. A flurry of apps appeared. Then the screen glitched. Lines pulsed over it, smoke streamed from the speakers. A quick spark signaled the end of the phone as the screen winked out. My triumph faded as I stared at a now useless hunk of metal and plastic, "That's now broken."

Anna stared wide eyed at the phone. She slowly shook her head, "Alright Sam." She handed me the phone back. I despondently held it between my fingers for a moment before shoving it back into my pocket. Anna worked her jaw back and forth, "I'm guessing it's useless now?"

I nodded, "Yup. It's useless now."

"Too much lightning?"

I grimaced, "Yeah."

Anna sighed, "Damn. That thing looked interesting."

I shrugged, "It's pretty useless in this world. But it was proof enough, right?"

Anna quickly nodded, "Definitely. So next question, why the secrecy? Why lie?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line. I had an answer prepared for this question, because I knew me. I knew that I would not be able to keep up the lie forever. When the day actually came that I had to tell the truth to everyone, I needed to have an answer. The answer I practiced bounced around in my mind. When the lie began, I was afraid, and I still am. I was not sure if Frederick would deem me a threat and kill me. Wasn't sure if I would get the help I needed to survive this place. But after being around the Shepherds for a couple months, I knew those explanations would not possibly work, because that is not who they were. Even if Frederick did not view me as trustworthy, even if he thought I was insane, it was unlikely he would have killed me. Especially after I helped save Severa's life.

The explanation died before it could escape my mouth.

"I don't know." I admitted.

Anna frowned at me, "You don't know." She snorted and shook her head, "You say that a lot. What do you know?"

I scoffed, "Not much."

Anna nodded, "There's the truth if I've ever heard it." She nodded to herself, "Then again, you're a big scaredy cat, and Frederick can be intimidating when he wants to be. I don't blame you for lying to him." She gave me a stern glare, "But don't you dare lie to me and Gaius again. We're a team. People like us can't afford to keep secrets in times like this, understand?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Good." Anna remarked.

A sinking feeling entered my gut, "Are you going to tell the others?"

Anna snapped her gaze back to me, "That's not for me to do. Besides, now I have leverage over you."

"L-leverage!?" I sputtered.

Anna smirked, "That's right. Here's a new lesson for you, Samwise-"

"Samuel." I corrected, but she ignored me.

"Don't give up the game that easily." He smirked wavered a little bit, "If one of Grima's agents ever gets to you, they'll do everything in their power to make you talk. We're valuable pieces on the battlefield. We know things the regular grunt does not. So learn to be quiet, learn to handle fear and pain, or it's going to be a short life for you."

I nodded. A small smile crossed my lips, "Actually, it's already been kinda short."

Anna raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I got hit by a freaking bus." I sniffed and let out a dry laugh, "Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"

"You still haven't explained a bus to me." Anna deadpanned, "How could I know how much that hurts?"

"Oh!" I blinked, "Well… how do I explain a bus?" I rubbed my chin, "What's the biggest carriage you've ever seen?"

* * *

I thought I was used to cold weather. I may not have grown up in Wisconsin, but I lived there long enough to get used to it's version of extreme weather. Thirty degrees outside? Break out the shorts everyone, it's time for a barbecue! Twenty degrees outside with a light dusting of snow? Put the beer outside for the Packer game. That way it won't take up space in the fridge. Ten degrees with a metric ton of snow? Still gotta go to work, still gotta walk to the bus station. The only time cold ever became freezing in the frozen tundra was when it got below zero. Then, and only then, did the Wisconsities start to bitch and moan. So, I figured that I could handle Regna Ferox.

God, I was so, so wrong.

The further north we marched, the more frigid it became. The bite the wind had turned into an all out assault of cold fangs that no amount of layers could block out. The sun hardly broke through the dark grey clouds that hung over my head like a depressing blanket. When the snow and ice hit, it made the road even more miserable. The march slowed down. Myself and the Feroxi soldiers spent more time trying to get Anna's cart out of ruts in the snow and ice than actually marching at times. I recalled Raimi cursing about lost time and wondered just how slow we were actually moving. Time mattered for us right now. Unfortunately, there was next to nothing I could do to help speed things along.

I grit my teeth as a piercing wind shot through the cart, whipping around everything inside and making Clucker's squawk. I thought the cart would give me some shelter from the wind. Instead, it acted like a damn wind tunnel, funneling the cold through and making my life miserable. Anna did not seem to notice too much at the front, but she was used to this type of travel. Meanwhile, I longed for the days of an electric space heater. In moments like this, when there was a lack of coats and fire, there was only one way to warm up at all.

Reluctantly, I hopped out of the back of Anna's cart as it continued its slow crawl up a tall hill. My boots sank into a deep snow drift, sending ice up my pant leg and making me hiss.

_I hate the cold._

A dry, croaking laugh sounded near me. I glanced to my left and saw Captain Raimi marching through the deep snow like it did not even exist. Her heavy armor didn't even bog her down. I could only imagine how much strength the woman actually possessed when pushed to her limits.

"Not used to it, Ylissean?" She asked, wry smirk on her lips cracked, scarred lips.

I blinked, still not used to being called a Ylissean. Nevertheless, I rolled with the distinction.

"Not really." I said bitterly, shivering as more wind whipped around us.

Raimi hardly flinched as some of her short, blonde hair whipped over her forehead.

"Figured as much. You look a bit soft. Don't worry though. Stay here long enough, and this land will harden ya up." Raimi commented as I struggled to keep up with her and Anna's cart, "The harsh winter winds makes a Feroxi a Feroxi. Ain't nobody tougher than us. It's why the Fell Dragon hasn't beaten us yet, and hopefully why he never will."

I raised my brow, "You think we can still win?"

Raimi shrugged as she used her lance like a walking stick, helping her navigate the deep snow easier, "Gotta hope right?" She nodded at the soldiers surrounding the cart, trudging through the snow with what little strength they could muster, "They need that. They need to see that I still think we can win, and dammit I still do." Her one good eye stared hard at me, "I've seen things you likely wouldn't believe, Ylissean. I've seen what your people and mine, united, can do. Those Plegian bastards under Gangrel couldn't win, neither could the Valmese, and those odds were just as bad. So yes, I hold out hope for victory. Besides, we still have Khan Flavia and Lady Tiki fighting on our side. Those two combined cannot be stopped, only forced back for a short time."

I nodded and licked my dry, chapped lips. A bad habit that only made their chapped condition worse. Maybe Anna had an ointment or something for it?

_I doubt chapstick exists._

"Is it like this all year?" I asked as my foot sank into a deep patch of snow, all the way up to my knee. I cursed and yanked my leg free while Raimi chuckled.

"No." Raimi replied, "At least, it didn't used to be. The Fell Shadow will make it like this permanently, so long as that ol' lizard lives. But, it's winter time too. Still surprised we have as much sun as we do. Might not have been a bad winter if Grima was not around." She noticed my doubtful expression and nudged my arm, "Don't get your smallclothes in a wad, Ylissean. There'll be roaring fires in Arena Ferox." She let out a wistful sigh, "Hot food. Ripe meat off of the bone. Naga, I can taste it already. And the mead, get ready for the mead. You're among Feroxi now, so you'll be drinking like a fish soon enough."

I laughed a little bit. It's been a long time since I actually drank heavy. Haven't done that since I was eighteen actually. Real life gets in the way of trying to party when you're no longer in school. If I was going to work everyday, I'd much rather be hangover free than feel drunk at night. Sure I had a beer or two every once in a while, but from what Raimi was saying, I was in for a lot more than that.

The cart rolled to a stop at the top of the snow covered hill. Raimi and I both stopped alongside it. My eyes widened as we looked down the hill.

"Take a good, long look, Ylissean." Raimi smiled, "There's the symbol of our strength."

A great coliseum rose up out of the snow and permafrost covered ground. Massive stone columns supported its immense walls. The sheer scale of the building would have put the Coliseum in Rome to shame. My jaw hung open as I caught sight of the sheer amount of tents and people surrounding the massive structure and its tiny village. Rust colored Feroxi banners flapped along the walls of the Arena while Green Ylissean flags waved in the cold wind from the tents surrounding it.

"There it is, Sam." Anna breathed as my breath stayed caught in my throat. I was staring at what would have been an absolute marvel back home.

"Arena Ferox."

**And chapter! A slower chapter this go around. Much more character heavy than action heavy. I wanted to show that Anna is in fact an extremely intelligent person, not just with money but just in general. I dropped little hints that Gaius and Anna were figuring out Sam's deception in the past few chapters, with his little slip ups and everything, and now Anna pieced it all together. Now we have to wonder if Gaius knows the true extent of it all. We'll find out eventually. For now, it's time we reunited with the rest of the future shepherds and figured out what the hell is going on in Regna Ferox. I'm excited!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! A bunch of other authors, and readers, are hanging out there talking Fire Emblem and other fun stuff! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	11. The Art of Foot in the Mouth

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 11

The Art of Placing One's Foot in the Mouth

Back home, there were few crowded places. Appleton was not what anyone would call a bustling metropolis. The tallest building was maybe seven or eight stories high. You could drive down the busiest street from end to end in about fifteen minutes. It was a quaint place with just enough people to not be boring, but not enough people to feel packed in like sardines. An enjoyable enough place to live. I liked to have my space for the most part.

The most crowded place was usually Lambeau Field, about thirty minutes north of home. Around sixty or seventy thousand people would gather there on Sundays during the winter time for Green Bay Packer football. I've been to one of those games. Until recently, that was the coldest I have ever felt in my entire life.

Appleton also had a few music festivals that attract several thousand people, but for the most part, if you are looking for a big crowd, wait for a Sunday in December, you'll get one. For a long time, that football stadium was the most crowded area I've ever seen… until now.

Arena Ferox buzzed like an enormous hive. It felt overwhelming to the senses. Every few seconds my eyes were pulled in a different direction by some strange noise or sight that blew my mind. Anna's cart rumbled through narrow, makeshift roads that weaved between tens of thousands of military tents. Not all of those tents were for residential use either. Many were dining tents, some were simple gathering places for soldiers. There were blacksmith tents with some of the biggest men and women I have ever seen hammering at swords against anvils, potion tents where mages and healers worked together to created more vulneraries for the massive army, even a library tent that immediately caught my attention. With how much training I have been doing, it's been awhile since I had the chance to just sit down with a good book.

Around all of these tens, uncountable numbers of soldiers and civilians roamed. Feroxi soldiers wearing rust colored tunics, furs, and simple iron armor hung around near tents with those same rusted banners. Ylissean soldiers in cream and green garb lingered near their own banners as well. Many intermingled with the Feroxi, sharing stories, food, checking weapons, eating food-

_I'm hungry. _I inhaled, immediately smelling the alluring, mouthwatering scent of smoked meat on the cold air, _Oh God, please tell me that's pork._

Oh that sounded good, a barbecue pork sandwich. My stomach growled at the thought of it. I could barely remember what something like that tasted like, but damn did it sound good.

_With some french fries and coleslaw. A big old pop to drink. _I uttered a wistful sigh.

"What're you thinking about now?" Anna asked, reminding me that I was, in fact, not alone on the driver's bench.

Ever since Anna pulled the truth out of me (and by pulled I mean threatened my life in a very serious manner), she had grown a lot more… I'm not even sure if friendly is the correct term for it. She still seemed kind of standoffish, but there was less coldness towards me. She allowed me to sit next to her often. During our slow ride north, she gave me advice when I asked questions regarding our job. When we passed a few, rare plants that bloomed in these frozen lands, she even stopped and gave me a quick lesson in what they were. Telling me which ones were poisonous, and which ones were edible.

"You never know what'll happen on a mission," She told me when I questioned why she was showing me a specific red berry that had an enjoyable, tart taste, "Knowing this stuff can save your life if you run out of food or are on the run."

_Shit, I really must be hungry if all I'm thinking about is food._

"Just hungry." I simply replied.

Anna snorted, "Hunger doesn't make someone sigh like they're remembering a lost lover."

"Well, I guess you could say food was my first love." I retorted, "Specifically, barbecue."

Anna arched an eyebrow, "You weren't fat when you showed up."

I shrugged, "Good metabolism, I guess."

"And what exactly is barbecue?" Anna asked as the cart rumbled closer to the massive Arena that dominated the military camp. As we got closer, the sea of tents turned into small, stone huts. The number of soldiers diminished as mostly Feroxi civilians filled the now gravel streets.

"Barbecue is… er…"

"Don't tell me you can't explain a food you clearly love from your homeland." Anna said.

"I already told you, I'm bad at explaining things." I replied before thinking another moment, "Well, it's basically grilled or smoked meat. Could be chicken, pork, beef, turkey, tofurky-"

"Tofurky?" Anna asked me, looking at me with a curious glance.

"It's gross." I replied, "Anyways, you either have a dry rub of seasonings or a special sauce that can be made a million different ways."

"How is it a special sauce if it can be made a million different ways?"

"Well you see, each region of where I'm from has their own flavor of barbecue." I replied.

"Huh." Anna shrugged, "Must be a big place then."

I nodded, "Yeah, you could say that." I glanced up at the Arena as it towered directly in front of us, "Where exactly are we going anyways?"

"Inside." Anna replied.

I did a double take, snapping my gaze to her then to the Arena as the cart gently stopped in front of one of the Arena's many entrances.

"In there?" I asked again, jabbing my thumb at the massive, stone construct.

Anna nodded, "Yup. We've gotta deliver our report to Khan Flavia and the others."

"We!?" I exclaimed as Anna hopped down from the cart and tied the horse off near the entryway.

As she did that, Raimi's soldiers dispersed into the Arena while their Captain waited for us near the large, wooden doors. The gruff Captain gestured for us to hurry up. Anna quickly sauntered over. I not so gracefully hopped off of the cart, stumbling when my feet hit the cold, icy gravel below, then rushed after both her and Raimi.

The inner corridors of Arena Ferox started off wide and tall. Massive arches in the walls exposed these corridors to the outside world, letting the faint sunlight provide light for the halls. We passed by several patrols of Feroxi soldiers in heavy, iron armor. More Lancers from the looks of things.

Raimi made a hard left, opening a small door that led to a tight staircase. I gave her an uncertain look as Anna strode ahead of me and Raimi held the door.

"Khan's quarters." Raimi grunted.

Anna stopped on the first stair, "Why are we going there?" She asked Raimi.

"Khan Flavia didn't meet us outside, and she did not have a messenger waiting for us. So something is either wrong with her or-"

"Or the crazy lady forgot we were coming." Anna huffed, marching up the stairs, "Wouldn't surprise me."

I glanced nervously at Raimi as the Captain frowned, "She gets like that sometimes." I said.

"I heard that Samwise!" Anna snapped from the next flight of stairs.

"Fuck." I muttered, "It's Samuel! You red haired tyrant." I finished under my breath.

Raimi uttered a quiet chuckle at that as she followed me up the stairs. The sunlight faded the further we ascended in the Arena, replaced by warm torchlight from sconces along the gray walls.

At the top of the stairwell was a final wooden door. Raimi moved past Anna and I, and pushed it open. We all strode into a small, narrow hall. At the far end of the hall was a doorway, left slightly ajar. Two Lancers stood guard in front of it. Their armor polished to a perfect shine, making me realize it was steel instead of the usual Feroxi iron. They stiffened at our approach, but then visibly relaxed as Raimi stepped in front of us.

"Here to report to the Khan." Raimi grunted.

Both guards flicked nervous glances to each other. Raimi furrowed her brow.

"Well? Gonna keep me waiting?"

"The Khan is… well…"

"What's wrong with Flavia?" Anna asked, concern now on her face.

The left guard swallowed hard, "You may enter. Lady Tiki, Sir Lon'qu, and their healer friend are inside."

I froze as Raimi shoved her way inside. Anna calmly followed, muttering under her breath unintelligible words I could not hear. She paused in the doorway and looked back at me.

"Sam," She snapped her fingers, "Come."

I blinked, "I'm not a dog."

Anna ignored my reply as we both entered the Khan's personal quarters.

The first thing I noticed was that it was sweltering hot inside, very unlike the rest of Regna Ferox. A massive fire burned in an enormous stone fireplace in the wall to my right. The flames nearly jumped free from their stone confines with each pop and crackle of wood from within. Adding to the warm feeling were fur rugs lining the floor. The most prominent being an enormous, white bear pelt draped over the stones closest to the fireplace.

_Huh, they have polar bears here. Go figure._

The rest of the large room was furnished well, but not lavishly. Most of the furniture was simple, wooden pieces with nary a hint of decoration on them. Very much symbolic of Regna Ferox's emphasis on simple strength over flashy displays of power. I tugged at my collar as sweat began to bead down my neck.

_God, it's hot in here._

"Who's the stripling, Raimi!" A powerful woman's voice barked before descending into a fit of hard coughs.

My head swiveled to the other wall, where a large bed rested. Lying beneath the covers was a dark skinned woman with light blonde hair. Small slivers of white hid inside of the blonde locks. Her hair sat in sweaty strips over her head and neck, several strands resting over her forehead. The fur blankets over her chest rose and fell in heavy, labored breaths. Heavy bags and dark circles rested around the woman's eyes, but there was a sharpness to her gaze that told me, despite her weakened appearance, that she was not someone to mess with. She commanded the entire room with her presence, demanding with a simple glare that I step forward and make myself known.

"Th-the name is, is Samuel um… Lady Khan, ma'am?" I answered, unsure of how to address Regna Ferox's ruler.

Weak, dry laughter rasped out of Flavia's mouth, "Lady Khan? Heh! Haven't heard that one before." She coughed hard again, body jerking upright with each harsh sound. When the fit ended, she rested back against her pillows, eyes still focused on me, "You're definitely, Ylissean. All about your proper manners and shit."

"My Khan, may I ask what happened?" Raimi quickly interjected as she knelt beside Khan Flavia's bedside, "I lost sight of you in the battle and-"

"And one of that lizard's fucking warriors got lucky." Flavia snarled, wincing then coughing again. A sharp wheeze slipped from her lips, "Spilled my fucking guts." She glanced over at my horrified face, smirking, "Gave as good as I got though. Too bad the fucker was already dead when I cut him. Ha! But the look on that Risen's face, priceless."

I blinked, "The Risen had a face?"

"She's a bit delirious at the moment. Forgive her ramblings." A much softer, gentler voice spoke up, making me turn back to the fireplace. In the corner of the room sat a water basin filled with crystal clear water. Drawing a pitcher of it was, what had to be, one of the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. A tall, blonde wearing heavy white and cream robes. A healing staff rested against the wall beside her, but I hardly noticed it.

"Um… hello to you too, ma'am." I said, bowing my head a little bit.

"Ha! Ma'am." Flavia roared with weak laughter mixed with sharp coughs, "Hear that Priest!" My eyes bugged out of my skull as the priest turned around to face me, "He called ya a woman! Ha ha!"

"The name is Libra." The priest nodded to me, "And as the title implies, young Sam, I am in fact a man."

I nodded dumbly, checks flush with embarrassment, "Noted."

Libra chuckled softly as he stepped past me, bringing a glass of water and a full pitcher to Flavia's bedside. He set the pitcher down on a nightstand then gently put a cup of water to the Khan's lips.

"Drink, my Khan." Libra ordered, "It'll help with the cough."

"Pah! This cough won't-" Flavia couldnt' get her next words out as her throat erupted into more coughs, "Ah, fuck it, give it here." She raised a weak hand and snatched the glass from Libra, gulping down the water. Once it was gone, she tore the cup away from her face and shoved it back to Libra, "Am I going to be able to piss that out properly? Or are my insides that wrecked?"

"We'll have to wait to find out." Libra replied, setting the glass beside the pitcher.

He glanced to a set of double doors against the wall behind him. Doors I failed to notice till now. Through the frosted glass panes in the door, I saw three figures speaking outside on a frozen, snow covered balcony. I recognized Anna's brown and yellow outfit, as well as her red hair. The second figure I did not recognize, but they wore a fur lined coat with the sleeves rolled up and had two swords strapped to their hips. The final figure was an even bigger mystery as they were shrouded in a cloak and deep hood. All three were fervently discussing something, I could hear their voices rising outside before suddenly the doors burst open and Anna stormed back in.

"It's not like I can control the idiot!" She snarled, marching past me and storming out of the room.

I winced as the door slammed shut behind her. My eyes nervously turned to a puzzled Raimi.

"She wasn't talking about me, right?"

"No, she was not." A regal, serene voice answered.

I turned my attention back to the balcony. The first person back inside after Anna was a man who was about my height, maybe a few inches taller. Short, brown hair crowned his head. An intensity rested in his eyes as he glared across the room at me. One of his tan hands gripped the hilt of one of his swords. Just from the two sword set up, I knew who I was looking at: Lon'qu, the old Champion of Khan Basilio, and a Shepherd. The last thing I wanted to do was get in a fight with him. That was definitely one I would lose, badly.

The second person to step through was the one who addressed my question. The hooded figure closed the doors behind her with a soft click before removing her hood, revealing bright green hair held back in a high ponytail with a red ribbon. A gold ornament sat over her hair as well. Pointed ears hid beneath some long locks of her hair. A calm expression rested on her pale face as she regarded me with the greenest eyes I've ever seen.

Lady Tiki, the Voice of Naga, a hero from both now and Marth's time, was addressing me. You'd think I'd reply with some sort of proper introduction. Something like: "Hello, my lady. How fare thee today?", or "Greetings, milady, my name is Samuel. May I ask your name?". Something Shakespearean and elegant. My brain tried to tell my mouth to say something along those lines.

It all got lost in translation when that command went from my brain to my tongue.

"Uh… hi."

I could feel the look Raimi was giving me. She probably was looking at me like I was an utter idiot. Lon'qu's expression did not change, but I did see one eyebrow arch up ever so slightly. Libra uttered a quiet chuckle as he brushed past me, taking a seat near the roaring fire. Tiki meanwhile, tilted her head to the side before smiling wide.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" She said, a good-natured grin on her face.

_Actually I do, but you wouldn't believe how. _I thought as I remained mesmerized by the ancient being in front of me.

"Looks like your stunning looks caught another." Flavia cackled between coughs.

Tiki smiled back at the Khan, "Rest, Flavia. You need to save your strength so your body can heal."

"Bah! I'll rest when I'm dead."

Tiki sighed, "That might not be far off." She muttered without Flavia hearing her. She quietly strode up to me, Lon'qu in tow, "Libra, inform me if Flavia's condition changes."

"Of course, my lady." Libra replied with a nod.

"Thank you." Tiki's smiling face returned to me, "Shall we walk?"

"Uh… sure."

I dumbly followed Tiki out of the room, the sounds of Flavia's dry, pain filled coughs rang through the hall after us. As they echoed off the walls, Tiki uttered a sad sigh.

"I warned her that we needed to retreat sooner." She breathed, shaking her head, "But Flavia would not give up the Longfort that easily."

We started to descend the stairs out of the Khan's living quarters. I distinctly heard Lon'qu shut the stairwell door behind me and Tiki as we walked. So far, I had no idea how to handle this situation. Damn my own social awkwardness. I honestly had no idea how to talk to a literal three thousand year old person who looked like a bombshell model. What was I supposed to say other than-

"I'm sorry to hear that." I replied.

Tiki closed her eyes and exhaled, "You have nothing to apologize for. You were not there. It was Flavia's own stubbornness, and Grima's evil, that put her in the position she is in." Her ears twitched as we entered one of the cold corridors exposed to the outside, "Speaking of you, who are you?"

I blinked, "O-oh, right, haven't introduced myself yet. My bad." I laughed nervously, "I get kinda forgetful at times. Really spacey actually. Tend to get lost in my own head and-"

"Your name?" TIki interrupted with a good-natured smile.

She stopped walking near one of the arches, allowing both of us to look out over the vast army camp surrounding the Arena and its small village. A biting cold wind slammed into us, making me visibly shiver. The frost somehow had no affect on her, other than blowing some green strands of hair back behind her ears.

"Right my name. That's um… Sam. Well, Samuel if you want the long version. It's cold out here, isn't it?"

Tiki chuckled lightly, "You're nervous."

"Not at all." I said, trying to recover. I leaned up against the icy, stone railing. Wincing as some ice melted through the sleeve of my shirt, "What ever gave you that impression?"

Lon'qu snorted off to the side, telling me my attempt at playing it cool did not work in the slightest. A slight sparkle danced in Tiki's eyes as she leaned up against the railing, green eyes focused on me.

"I can smell it." She replied in a matter of fact tone.

_Oh God, she can smell fear. _I gulped.

"So, Sam, or do you prefer Samuel?"

"Either or." I shrugged.

Tiki furrowed her brow, puzzled, "I thought your name was-"

I blinked, "Oh, no, um-" Another nervous laugh slipped from my lips, "Figure of speech. What I meant to say, is it doesn't matter to me if you call me Sam, Samuel, Idiot; I frankly don't care."

Tiki opened her mouth in understanding, "Sometimes your human norms confuse me. Especially all of those different sayings of yours. They change so often over the centuries. Often they get muddled together for me." She exhaled and looked out over the sea of soldiers and tents, "How did you come to know Anna?"  
"Well uh… how do you know that I know Anna?"

Tiki let out an amused sound, "You showed up with her, didn't you?" She leaned closer to me, "I detected her scent on you."

I choked on my own breath, "O-oh! Um-" I coughed hard, "Nothing like that. Um… you probably smelled," _God, that sounds weird coming out of my mouth. _"the time she held a dagger to my throat."

Tiki blinked, "What?"

_Oh great job, Sam. Way to make the person who could obliterate you with a thought trust you. Tell her how Anna had every intention to kill you on the road. Really drive the point home._

Did I mention how I am terrible at social interactions with new people? This is why I had hardly any friends back home.

Tiki gave me a sidelong glance, "You upset Anna, didn't you?"

I bobbed my head to and fro, "To be fair, a bad breeze could set her off just as easily as me." Tiki quickly stifled a laugh, "I can be a bit annoying."

"Not at all, Samuel." Tiki chuckled, "And, back to how our conversation began, Anna was not referring to you as the idiot she cannot control."

I squinted, trying to recall what she was talking about. Then I remembered how Anna stormed out of the Khan's quarters with all the subtlety of a tornado whipping through a Midwest town.

"Ah right well, I assumed because I tend to be the idiot she has to correct." I said with a slight laugh.

This time, Tiki did not chuckle. She gave a stern look that made my own self deprecating laughter die in my throat.

"You speak ill of yourself far too much, Sam." Tiki admonished. She took a deep breath, "We were speaking of Gaius, who I assume was traveling with you and Anna as well?"

I bowed my head, then nodded, "Yeah, um… he's kinda my mentor." I noticed Tiki's eyes widen in surprise, "Yeah, it's just as scary to me too."

Tiki shook her head, thoroughly amused now, "Gaius teaching someone how to be a thief. I never thought I'd see the day." She laughed softly to herself, "You're a new member of the Shepherds then. Well, as a member myself, I bid you welcome." She flicked her eyes back out to the camp, specifically eyeing the main road as a procession of Ylissean soldiers marched into the tent city, "Speaking of Shepherds."

I peered out as well, but could not tell who was marching in. I could see the green Ylissean banners, but that was it.

"Sir Frederick and Lissa will want to speak immediately." Tiki informed me, "Unfortunately, we will have to conclude our conversation."

_Unfortunately? You mean she was enjoying me sticking my foot in my mouth? That's new._

"There is a barracks at the base of the Arena, where you all will be staying. I'm sure Lon'qu will be happy to show you the way." Tiki finished, nodding over at the silent swordsman, who was still giving me a stern glare that made me nervous to stare back.

Without another word, she turned and moved back to the Khan's quarters, in order to wait for Lissa and Frederick with Flavia. I watched as she strode away, too dumbstruck to say anything. Normally I got very tongue tied around girls and such, but somehow Tiki made me act like a complete and total dumbass. Partly out of nervousness, and partly out of fear. I was well aware of her power, if she wasn't aware that I was aware.

_Ugh. _I massaged my forehead, _My brain… why am I like this._

I looked to Lon'qu, seeing that he had not moved a muscle. He just looked at me, that same blank expression on his face, the same intensity in his eyes. I squinted at him. Before I could stop myself, the Gaius influence in me spoke.

"Do I look pretty to you or something?"

* * *

The barracks set aside for the Shepherds was much cozier than the one in Ylisstol, probably because people actually lived in it. Back in Ylisstol, I was the only one living in the old Shepherd's barracks. There was a strange sense of sober sadness in the walls of the Shepherds barracks. As if the place had once been filled with cheer and mirth, but had been robbed of all of that by one disaster after another, until all that was left was the cold white stone walls and an empty bar. Whenever I laid my head down on my pillow in Ylisstol, there was a lingering sense of sad nostalgia around me, even though I was never there to experience the joys that building once held.

The Feroxi barracks felt like a clean slate. While the land itself was frozen, the inside of the barracks was just as warm as Ylisstol. Two fireplaces resided in the common room, both with fires blazing hot inside of them. A simple, wood bar counter sat off to the side in the main common room with several bottles of Feroxi firewine on it. A rare commodity in today's day and age. Likely a gift from Khan Flavia to the Shepherds for their swift arrival. Most of the furniture did not have proper cushions, instead relying on layers of furs to provide any semblance of warmth and comfort. While not as comfortable as the cushiony sofas back in Ylisstol, they did the trick. I lounged back into a chair covered in a pair of bears skins and watched the closest fireplace. It's the only thing I could really think of doing in this moment. None of the other Shepherds had-

The door burst open, and they arrived.

"Brrrr!" Cynthia shivered as she shuffled in, tracking snow and ice with her boots. She wore her typical Pegasus Knight armor, including the not very practical skirt. But she did not seem to be wearing a coat, "T-too c-cold." She raced for the fireplace near me and squatted in front of it, holding her hands near the flames as she continued to shiver.

"I told you to bring a coat, but do you ever listen to me? Nope." Severa pointed out with a frown as she strode past Cynthia and flopped into a sofa, "Hello." She grumbled to me.

_About as warm a greeting as I'll ever get from her. _I thought.

"Samwise!" Owain declared, stepping in from the cold, a heavy yellow coat over his shoulders and a wide grin on his face, "You survived your first mission! Truly, thou hast the makings of a grand hero for Ylisse. You have earned a place among our glorious ranks!"

"Damn, he actually lived." Kjelle chuckled, pushing past Owain and heading to the bar, "Brady, Sev-"

"Yeah, yeah, we owe you some coin." Brady grumbled, digging into snow filled pocket in his pants, "Give me a second, I've got mostly ice in here."

"Did you all get caught in a storm or something?" I asked, watching as both Laurent and Yarne quietly entered.

Laurnet nodded at me silently before sitting near the frosted window while Yarne shivered, both from the cold, and maybe because of me? His eyes always seemed to widen in fear when they landed on me, which was odd. I had to be one of the least intimidating people in this room.

"Just a small Feroxi blizzard." Kjelle replied, popping the cork on a bottle of firewine and pouring herself a glass, "Nothing too extreme."

"It was quite interesting to experience though." Laurent piped up, "Ylisse usually doesn't have snow or perspiration like that."

"Aren't those the same thing?" I wondered out loud.

"Let him talk all fancy." Brady huffed, sinking down onto a stool with a wolf pelt over the top, "He likes it." He finished fishing in his pocket and flicked several gold coins over to Kjelle, who deftly caught them out of the air, "Pour me a glass while your at it."

"Will do." Kjelle nodded.

Cynthia perked up, "Can I-"

"No." Kjelle, Brady, and Severa all said at once.

Cynthia sagged, "Fine. But seriously, I'm not a little kid anymore."

"You made a snow angel as soon as you saw a light dusting." Severa deadpanned.

"Tell me you weren't tempted to do the same!" Cynthia cried, spinning around in her squatting position in order to face the disgruntled redhead. She blinked when she noticed me in the chair near Severa, "Oh, hi Sam!"

Severa pinched the bridge of her nose, "You just now noticed him?"

"Well, I was cold, so I was a little more focused on the fire." Cynthia sniffed back.

Glasses clinked at the bar. Both Brady and Kjelle toasted their group's safe arrival before taking a sip. They both grabbed an extra, full glass. Kjelle gave one to Severa while Brady handed me the other.

"You deserve it for living." He remarked with a wry grin.

I opened and closed my mouth, "H-how many of you thought I'd be dead?"

To my utter shock, not only did Brady and Severa raise a hand, Cynthia and Laurent did too.

"You too!?" I cried, looking at Cynthia.

Cynthia shrugged, "They told me it was the safe bet."

I blinked, then snorted, "I can see why you won't let her drink."

Severa sputtered on her own sip of firewine for a moment while Brady chuckled. The redhead nodded, "She's a special one, that's for sure."

"Hey! I'm right here!"

The door opened again, letting in a rush of cold air.

"About time you all showed up!"

Severa froze in her chair, glass hovering near her lips. Cynthia's eyes brightened and a happy gasp rushed from her lips. The Pegasus Knight surged to her feet and rushed to the door, nearly tackling a short girl with short, midnight black hair. The pair fell into a mess with Cynthia nearly being enveloped in the oversized, purple and gold coat the other girl was wearing.

"Geez, Cynthia! A hug would've been fine!" The girl laughed, embracing her on the floor.

"The justice cabal, reunited at last!" Owain declared, "Truly none can stand against us now!" He peeled Cynthia off of the other girl, allowing her to stand up. Owain then embraced her, "Good to see you once more, Morgan. To know that you have survived and thrived here is a heartwarming thing."

"Aw, I missed you too buddy." Morgan smiled before breaking away. The door opened behind her, letting three others step into the barracks. All three I recognized from their in game portraits.

The first was a young man with brown hair, styled in the most dashing way he could possibly think of. He carried himself with all of the confidence of a high school prom king, strut and all. He gave Kjelle a smoldering glance, and I struggled to stifle my own snickers when she flipped him off.

"Quite the rude greeting." The young man said with a smirk.

"I can give you a ruder one if you want, Inigo." Kjelle shrugged, "Still, it's good to see you alive."

Before Inigo could reply, another young man with silver hair and a mask over his face shoved his way into the room. He stormed through the common room, not even giving a greeting to anyone as he made his way to the bunkhouse. Brady frowned when he heard a door loudly shut at the end of the hall.

"Gerome's in his usual 'fuck you' mood." Brady muttered.

"It seems worse this time." Laurent muttered.

"The last battle was hard on us." A third, much quieter, higher voice interjected.

Quietly stepping around both Cynthia and Morgan was a very short young girl with light green hair, nearly blonde in color. She looked weary. Her exhaustion confirmed to me by a small yawn slipping from her lips. Pointed ears poked out from her short haircut. Her small boots tapped against the stone tile as she made her way to a chair and sat down in it, nearly being swallowed whole by the furs beneath her.

"Every battle is hard, Nah." Severa pointed out, kicking her legs over the armrest of one sofa so she could prevent Inigo from sitting beside her. The dashing swordsman simply sat down on the floor next to her, making the redhead roll her eyes.

"This one especially so, given what happened." Nah pressed her lips together and glanced around the room, "Where is Noire?"

"With her father." Laurent replied, "Henry is concocting something in his portable workshop and he required her assistance."

"Oh Naga, is he going to try and give her fangs again?" Brady groaned, rubbing his eyes, "Do ya'll have any idea how messy that healing session was?"

I stared at Brady, aghast, "Noire is her father's guinea pig?"

"Only sometimes. He's not as bad as her mother, that witch of a woman." Severa snarled, clearly upset by the mere mention of Noire being a test subject for magical experiments, "Henry at least tries to mitigate any negative outcomes when he asks her to help him out."

"Oh c'mon, Sev." Morgan bounced over to the fire with Cynthia, "Auntie Tharja wasn't all that bad."

"To you." Severa grumbled, glaring at Morgan. The younger girl pursed her lips but said nothing in reply. Her and Cynthia began their own conversation by the fire. Meanwhile, Severa returned her attention to Nah, "Why was this battle hard, Nah? What exactly happened?"

Nah blinked, "You don't know yet?"

"Don't know what?" Brady asked, sipping his glass of firewine.

I sucked in a breath, suddenly realizing none of the kids had any idea of what happened at the battle. Which meant that they had no idea Khan Flavia lay in her chambers, severely wounded. No idea that Lucina was captured. They were completely in the dark, and I knew everything.

_Oh God, I'm about to get bombarded._

"Lucina's been captured." Nah said soberly.

Any conversation came to a standstill. I could hear a pin drop in the common room. The only noise filling the air was the sound of firewood cracking and the harsh breeze hitting the door and window panes. I saw a mixture of emotions play out on all of their faces. Owain and Brady seemed shocked beyond words. The normally jovial swordsman turned eerily silent while the foul mouthed priest appeared incapable of forming a reply. Severa's gaze hardened into an intense glare as she stared at Nah. A nearly unreadable look that I assumed was anger and determination. Kjelle's fist tightened around her glass to the point where I was worried it would crack into a million shards in her grip. Laurent stopped reading his tome. His eyes were wide as he was too stunned to speak. Cynthia looked to be on the verge of tears. Water welled up in her eyes as she whipped her gaze to a very somber Morgan.

"No…" Cynthia whimpered, lower lip quivering.

Morgan bowed her head, "We did everything we could." She inhaled deep, then shuddered out an exhale, "I was with her and she made me retreat and-" Morgan swallowed hard, "I should've done more."

"Yeah." Severa rose to her feet, "You should have." She glared down at Inigo then turned her ire to Nah, "All of you."

"Sev…" Brady sighed, realizing the redhead's fury, "Now's not the time to-"

"Now's not the time!?" Severa cried, cutting him off, "Lucina is captured. Hell, she's probably being tortured or is already dead!"

Cynthia uttered a sob at that, before burying her head into Morgan's shoulder.

"Sev please-" Morgan started.

"Oh be quiet, Morgan." Severa growled, "We are now without our greatest warrior and our leader. Grima has her. Need I remind all of you that she is of the Exalted bloodline too!?" She glared at all of us, gaze stopping on me, "You got here first, what did you know?"

I shifted uneasily under her steely gaze, "Me, Gaius, and Anna found out at the Longfort. It…" I grimaced. Part of me saw Cynthia's tears and wanted to soften the blow. But another part of me knew that hiding the truth would only hurt them more in the end. While I hid lots of truths from them already, this was one I would not disguise, "It wasn't pretty. There was a lot of devastation."

Kjelle's glass shattered as she chucked it against the wall behind the bar, "Damn lizard bastard!" She roared rising to her feet and marching to the door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Brady remarked.

"To get Lucina back, what do you think?" Kjelle growled, "Just gotta grab my lance and-"

"The odds of you surviving such an endeavor are shockingly low." Laurent interrupted, adjusting his glasses on his nose, "If the freezing conditions do not kill you, Risen or wild animals will."

Kjelle frowned, "Well… I didn't plan on going alone." She nodded at Severa, "You comin'?"

Severa started to nod when I cleared my throat.

"Gaius is already on it."

Yarne's head snapped towards me as he crouched near Laurent, "Wh-what?"

I took a deep breath, "Gaius left me and Anna at the Longfort. He went to go find Lucina then report where she is being held to us."

"On his own!?" Severa cried, alarmed.

"Sev, you need to relax." Morgan breathed, patting Cynthia on the back before getting to her feet, "You too, Kjelle." Severa's fist balled up as Morgan spoke, "Freaking out right now helps no one. It's not what Lucy would've done if one of us were in her situation. Gaius is the best sneaky person we know. If anyone can find her without getting caught, it's him." Morgan turned her attention to Kjelle, "Going out and dying in the cold helps no one."

Kjelle flicked her gaze down as Morgan's softer demeanor hardened, as if challenging Kjelle's strength and brashness. Like an alpha wolf staring down another member of the pack. Wordlessly, Kjelle stepped away from the door, returned to the bar, grabbed the open bottle of firewine, and put the entire bottle to her lips.

"Pass that once your done." Brady grumbled, "I'm gonna need it too."

Severa did not follow Kjelle's lead. Instead, the redhead stormed out of the barracks, slamming the door shut behind her. Morgan sighed and moved to follow, only for Laurent to shake his head.

"She's feeling very antagonistic towards you."

Morgan closed her eyes, "She's always that way with me, but someone has to keep her from doing something stupid."

"How's it that you're younger than her, but somehow more mature?" Brady wondered out loud as Kjelle passed him the entire bottle of firewine.

"I'm not more mature, just more aware of the situation." Morgan breathed, "And maybe if I-"

I rose to my feet, "She won't want to talk with any of you."

Inigo arched an eyebrow, "Who the hell are you?"

"Sam, nice to meet you." I remarked, giving him a small wave, "And I know she doesn't want to talk to any of you because… well I just know." _I've had family with a similar temperament. Can't say that to you all though. _"I know what Gaius was trying to do. So I can give her some answers."

"Good luck." Brady sniffed, pulling the bottle from his lips before looking at a tearful Cynthia. He offered it to her, but she shook her head, muttering how she was no longer in the mood.

"I'll probably need it." I muttered back as I stepped past a still shell shocked Owain, opened the door, and stepped outside into the cold.

I bit back a sharp curse as a blast of frozen wind hit me. The sun had already set, rendering the entire land around the Arena even colder than before, which I hardly thought was possible. My boots crunched in the snow. I could already feel my cheeks and nose freezing as I looked around for Severa.

_She can really storm off in a hurry._

A pair of voices caught my attention near one of the Arena's massive stone pillars. I turned my shivering gaze over and made out two redheads quietly talking in the shadows of the Arena. Severa had her back pressed to the pillar, head bowed, eyes cast down to her boots as she kicked at some ice. As if she was suddenly ashamed of something. Anna stood in front of her, arms folded, one foot tapping against the icy ground. I could not make out what Anna was saying to Severa but I could see several emotion flash over the younger redhead's face. Her face twisted in anger, then Anna added something in that made Severa's face drop. Shame washed over the girl and she quickly averted her eyes away from Anna. Anna sighed heavily, patted Severa's shoulder and nodded for her to go into the Arena.

As Severa walked away, Anna turned her head and noticed me.

"The hell are you doing out in this weather?" She asked as snow started to fall sideways with the wind.

I shivered, wrapping my black cloak tight around my arms, "Trying to make she didn't do something dumb. But it looks like you beat me to it."

Anna snorted, "Yeah well, she still said something dumb. I made sure to point that out to her." I stepped up beside her, using the pillar to shield myself from the biting wind. Anna hardly flinched at the harsh weather, but I could see her cheeks were especially rosy thanks to the cold, "How're the other kids?"

"Shell shocked." I replied.

Anna quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh right, that's uh… figure of speech." I explained, "Stunned, that's what I meant to say."

Anna sighed, "I knew they would be." She shook her head, "Told Frederick it was a bad idea to keep the truth from them. They were gonna find out anyways, might as well give them time to grieve while marching. If they did run off, at least it would've been in Ylisse and not here, in a warzone." Now I noticed her shiver a little bit, "C'mon, let's get out of this damn cold."

"To the barracks?" I asked.

She nodded, "That's where we're staying right? Plus I'm sure the kids have a lot of questions for us."

My boots crunched in the new, powdery snow as I followed her back to the barracks. I glanced over my shoulder at the Arena again, wondering where Severa ran off to.

"She went to go talk to Frederick." Anna explained to me, picking up my concern, "He's her teacher, and she's rightfully pissed with his _deception_."

I picked up on her glancing over her shoulder at me, and I noticed how she seemed to emphasize the word deception. "My situation is very different." I replied.

"A lie's a lie." Anna remarked, "And the only reason I haven't spilled it to the others, is because it'd be hypocritical of me to do so, since I'm very well known liar."

"Swindled people a lot?" I asked with a slight smirk.

Anna glared at me, "I should smack you upside the head for that one." She huffed, breath misting in front of her face, "But you aren't wrong."

She opened the barracks door and stepped inside. Both of us shook snow from our bodies as we entered the barrack's warm confines.

"Anna!" Cynthia barreled into the merchant, wrapping her arms tight around the older woman's waist, "Is it true?" She asked, bleary eyes looking up at the red head.

Anna pursed her lips, "It is uh… yeah…" She pulled Cynthia off of her and nodded, "But we're gonna get her back. The battle wasn't as bad as it sounds."

"Sam said it was pretty rough looking." Brady remarked, leaning back in his seat.

I shrank as Anna glared over at me.

_Great job, Sam. You're on a damn roll when talking to strangers._

"Sam's never been in an actual battle," She exhaled, softening her gaze and returning her attention to the other kids, "He's got nothing to compare it to."

"So it wasn't another Themis?" Kjelle asked.

"Naga, no. And thank goodness it wasn't." Anna replied, taking a seat beside Kjelle and pouring herself a glass of firewine.

She poured a second glass and offered it to me, which I politely declined. I was already doing a wonderful job of sticking my foot in my mouth. Alcohol would only make that penchant worse right now.

Anna knocked back her glass in one gulp, grabbed the second, and drank that one with ease too. She winced as the it ran down her throat then slid the glasses away.

"Now I feel warm." She muttered, "Damn cold." She spun around to look at all of the teenagers in the room, "Look, Gaius is on the case. He's going to find Lucina, and maybe even get her home. If he can't, then he's gonna get back here and make sure we can form a rescue plan with the best intel possible. For now, Frederick and Lissa are going to need all of you to go about your day. Do your training; be ready for battle. That's what Lucina would do, so you all should follow her example. Got it?"

Everyone nodded, even me.

"Good." Anna replied, she closed her eyes and covered her mouth, suppressing a quiet yawn, "I'm gonna hit the sack. Only wake me if it's an emergency. Sam, c'mon."

I blushed a little bit, "You know that-"

"Sam, if you shove your foot any further into your mouth, you'll choke on it." Anna remarked, noticing my blush. The somber aura in the barracks lightened significantly as Brady and Kjelle chuckled at my blunder, "Lissa and Tiki's got responsibilities for us. I'm gonna tell you about them, then you're gonna let me sleep. Now c'mon."

Brady whistled at me as I followed Anna down the hall. I spun around and shook a fist at him, making both Brady and Kjelle throw their heads back with loud laughter. The other kids joined them, and soon warm conversation returned to the room. But I knew they would also be talking about Lucina's capture. They just wouldn't do so without all of the tension first learning about it created. Both Anna and Gaius seemed to have remarkable abilities to read a room and know how to lighten a mood. This time it came at my expense; but it helped, so I didn't mind too much.

Anna grunted as the door to the woman's bunkhouse stuck to the door frame. With a final shove, she managed to open the door. The bunkhouse was not as warm as the common room, since it was mostly comprised of simple cots with a few furs thrown over straw mattresses. There was no fireplace in here, which made the room feel much colder than the common room.

"Gonna have to keep fires blazing through the night." Anna grumbled, "I'm not gonna freeze to death in a barracks." She undid the ribbon holding her read hair up and set it down on a nightstand beside the cot closest to the door.

I studied the room a little more and could see several spots were already occupied. The cot closest to a small window in the far wall had two blankets neatly folded over it. A small, pale stone rested in the blankets. It radiated a strange energy I could feel in the air. If I had to take a guess, the stone had to be a dragonstone, which meant that cot was Nah's.

The cot next to that one was messy. The blankets were tangled up in thick wads. A pillow rested at the foot of the cot instead of near the head of it. Several thick volumes and spell books were stacked on a chest at the foot of that cot with loose scraps of paper poking out of the pages. Seeing as how Nah and Morgan were the only previous occupants of this space, I could tell that one had to be Morgan's, given her tactician leanings in the game.

Anna let out a content sigh as she sat down on her cot and kicked her boots off.

"Gods," She breathed, "Feels good to just sit down." She cleared her throat and glanced over at me, "Take a seat."

I followed her orders without question, taking a seat on a chest next to an empty cot. Anna tilted her head, allowing some pops to ring out from her neck before she rolled her shoulders and yawned again.

"Getting old sucks, Sam." She muttered, "You get aches in places you shouldn't."

I raised an eyebrow, "You don't look that old to me."

Anna snorted, "Nice compliment, but I am getting old." She let out a quiet sigh, "Met the Shepherds oh… I was about twenty two. Lucina was just born and she's eighteen now so… Naga, it's been that long already." She raised a weary gaze to me, making me realize just how exhausted she actually felt, "I'm going to be forty-two soon, Sam."

I gaped at her, "You're twenty years older than me?"

"What did I say about your foot?" Anna snarked back, making me snap my mouth shut.

I cleared my throat, "My bad."

"Yeah, your bad." Anna huffed. She rubbed her thighs and sniffed, "Agh, forget about all of that. Just me talking nonsense. Let's get down to business."

"You're good at business." I nodded.

"Damn right, I am." Anna agreed, leaning forward and resting her arms on her knees, "You're gonna have to keep up your training regimen, alright? I won't be able to spar with you all the time, but I'm sure one of the kids won't mind going a few rounds with you. Just… if you're gonna fight Kjelle, make sure Brady is close by to clean up the blood."

I paled a little bit, "She's that tough?"

"And rough. Kid gave me a black eye when she was ten. Fists like stone, that one." Anna said with a light laugh, "Also, I'm instituting some new training for you since I learned you're dumb as a brick, while we were on the road."

"Thanks?" I remarked.

"Be grateful I'm bothering to fix it." Anna replied, "You're gonna meet up with Miriel after you do your morning exercises. She's gonna educate you on plantlife, or what little there still is. She'll also teach you some basic potion making. If your out in the field, knowing how to make a remedy could save your life. She'll be in a workshop set up somewhere in the camp, just ask around about it."

"Okay." I nodded, "Is it bad to mention my worst class in school, other than Spanish, was Chemistry?"

Anna looked at me, puzzled again.

"Alchemy." I clarified with a sigh, "But more advanced."

"Well, if you learned advanced alchemy then you should have no problem."

"That's not what I-" I sighed and massaged my eyes, "Fine, fine. I'll just do it."

"That's better." Anna nodded, "Do what I tell you, and you'll turn out just fine. Once Miriel is done for the day instructing you, find me. I'll give you some more stuff for the day, if there's still daylight."

I nodded, "Understood."

"Good."

"What are your responsibilities?" I asked as Anna yawned again, moving to rest her head on her pillow.

"Right now, not snapping your neck. I'm trying to sleep."

I gulped, "R-right. Um… I'll go now."

"That'd be a good idea." Anna mumbled as she closed her eyes, folded her hands on her stomach, and drifted off.

I tiptoed out of the bunkhouse and quietly shut the door behind me. Silently, I crept back down the hall to the common room. When I entered, all eyes turned to me. Kjelle was on what might've been her fourth or fifth drink. She was already red in the face. Brady was now sitting next to her. Both of them were giggling like a couple of little kids at me. Morgan was silently chuckling as well, even though she hardly knew me. I had a feeling what they were laughing about, but I still had to ask.

"What?"

Owain cleared his throat, "~Anna and Samwise doth sit in a tree~"

That did it. Kjelle fell out of her chair, howling with laughter. Brady rested his head against the bar counter, laughing as well. Laurent snickered silently by the window. Yarne did not look so afraid of me in that moment, but he still seemed skittish. Nah looked around at everyone, seeming confused and mildly irritated by the raucous laughter that she failed to understand. Inigo winked and me and gave me a nod of approval. The only person not looking amused was Cynthia, the Pegasus Knight too worried about her sister to laugh.

I opened and closed my mouth.

"It's- It's not-" I huffed and sank back into my seat by the fire, "Fuck you all."

Brady sputtered on a drink, "I ain't gonna be your sloppy seconds."

I twirled in my seat. In that moment I felt a confusing mixture of anger and amusement. I couldn't help but join in their laughter. It was a strange feeling. Camaraderie, it was something I had not felt since high school. Even then, it never felt like this. Any harsh reply I had died in my throat. I simply shook my head, chuckled, and returned my attention to the crackling fire.

_A new day tomorrow. And more training. _I laughed to myself, _Here's hoping I don't embarrass myself anymore. _

**And chapter! This chapter was way too much fun to write. I absolutely love writing these character moments. Gives me a chance to explore the characters and their relationships in new ways, which is always a treat. Sam's got more education ahead of him, so he's finally going to meet Miriel, which should be fun. And we learned a little bit about what is going on in Regna Ferox. Things seem kinda bleak at the moment. We'll see what happens next.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Where me and other authors and readers talk writing, reading, fanfics, and fandoms. Basically nerding out lol. It's fun! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	12. Little Workshop of Horrors

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 12

Little Workshop of Horrors

"Excuse me, do you have a moment to-" The Feroxi soldier I managed to attract the attention of for a split second grunted, then stepped away from me, treating me as nothing more than an insignificant waste of time. As he strode away, I let my hands fall to my side, barely feeling my numb, frozen fingers tap against my sides, "talk about our lord and savior Tiki… great." I grumbled despondently.

Anna seemed to think I knew my way around a military camp. I mean, really how hard could navigating what seemed like an endless sea of identical tents really be? It's not like I could tell the difference between the regular residential tents, the blacksmiths, the supply tents, and all the other types of tents in between.

_What I would give for a map. _I huffed, breath misting in front of my face.

It didn't help that no one seemed interested in helping a poor, lost idiot such as myself. The Feroxi soldiers viewed me as, to use Khan Flavia's words, a stripling. An unproven one at that. Which meant I was worth less than the powder beneath their fur lined boots. The Ylisseans were nice enough, but whenever I asked them where the magical workshops were, they'd get pale and not answer, effectively ending our conversation and leaving me to fend for myself once more.

_It's like walking down the hall in high school all over again as a freshman. _I thought, smiling a little bit at the memories, _Then again, freshman year wasn't all that bad._

I spun on my heel, glancing around at the overwhelming number of tents crisscrossed by narrow, icy paths. Not a single one of them had signs telling me what they were for, and there were no directions to be found anywhere. I was left to my own devices and sense of direction, which was already atrocious.

I glanced up at the sky and frowned as I saw nothing but dense, gray clouds that threatened to blanket the land in more snow.

_No sun… _I scowled and looked down at my feet, kicking a piece of ice, _I can't even tell which way is fucking east or west._

Honestly, how in the hell was I supposed to find a magic workshop in this place? I grumbled under my breath as I strode away from my previous spot and weaved through crowds of Feroxi and Ylissean soldiers clogging the small paths between tents. The Ylissean soldiers tended to avoid me as I walked. Which I was grateful for, since I was smaller and lighter than the average man-at-arms. The Feroxi, on the other hand, expected me to get out of their way. If I did not, they had no qualms about knocking me over and going on their merry way.

_I know it's the culture and all, strength above all else. _I thought as I turned a corner in the camp, feet sinking into an icy slurry on the side of the path, making me hiss, _But do they have to be such assholes about it?_

A strange feeling circulated around me as I passed a large tent with no banners attached to it. Gooseflesh formed on my skin as a particularly hot wind shot out of the tent and slammed into me. With the wind came a strange smell. Like a mixture of rotten eggs, burnt paper, and… was that cinnamon?

"The hell?" I muttered, curiosity getting the better of me as I poked my head into the tent.

My eyes widened. The entire inside of the tent was filled with tables and shelves. The shelves along the walls of the large tent were laden with books. There were volumes upon volumes of heavy texts, with no titles written on the spines. They appeared to be color coordinated, which I found both amusing and odd. The shelves sitting in the middle of the tent were covered in potted plants. A few seemed pleasant, with budding flowers emerging from green leaves. Some had berries sprouting on them. Then there were a few, gnarly looking plants that were in all likelihood, very deadly. One even had white mold growing like crazy along it's stem and leaves.

I whipped my gaze back and forth. The place appeared empty, and well… I was bored. Wandering around a camp was not the most entertaining thing in the world. Besides, it was warm in this tent. This was the perfect opportunity for me to get the chill out of my toes, fingers, and face.

I stepped inside and let my black cloak hang a little looser over my shoulders, no longer needing to pull it tight to shelter my body from the biting Feroxi wind. A few beads of sweat formed on my brow as the temperature started to rise the further I ventured into the strange tent. I gazed in wonder at the many strange plants before turning my eyes to a table that made my stomach flip.

Jars filled with all sorts of gelatinous liquids sat on the table. Inside of those opaque and clear liquids were… body parts. Some were animal parts. I could see a few tiny eyeballs sitting at the base of one jar. Tusks were sitting in another. An embryo or two from an animal I could not recognize resided in another jar.

When I saw the human ear, I felt vomit creep up my throat.

_That's where the smell is coming from. _I gagged.

Something scurried nearby, making me freeze beside that table. I strained my ears as I tried to pinpoint what was moving through the crowded shelves. More scurrying to my left, I twirled over. Shivers ran up and down my spine, despite the strange heat inside of the tent. My teeth chattered as I scanned the rows of shelves, trying to figure out what was moving closer to me.

_It could be an animal? A-a rat maybe? Yes, just a rat. _I paled, _I've never seen a rat before… shit. What do I do if it attacks? _I wiped my sweaty brow with the back of my hand, _That's what the hatchet is for, Sam._

The scurrying quickly shifted to my right. I twirled that way, eyes wide. My right hand drifted towards the hatchet I had strapped to my belt.

_What if it's a person? _I gulped, _Who would live in a place like this?_

The scurrying stopped. I kept my eyes glued to the last two shelves to my right, peering into the shadows they cast. I did not see any movement, or any sign that something was hiding there.

A sharp gasp rushed from my lips as black feathers raced off of one shelf and up to a support in the tent's roof. I gazed up at a black… I think it was a crow? Or a Raven? Identifying birds was always my grandmother's thing. At least it gave me an explanation for the mysterious noises.

_Jesus, Sam. _I exhaled, letting my hand fall away from my hatchet, _Jumpy much?_

A hand slapped my shoulder, and I screamed like a ten year old girl.

"Sam!" Noire hissed, spinning me around to face her. I stopped screaming when I saw the usually meek, quiet archer glaring worriedly at me, "What are you doing in here!?"

I opened and closed my mouth as I tugged at the collar of my shirt, "Well er uh- what are you doing-"

"You need to leave, now." Noire cut me off quickly, yanking me by the arm and shoving me towards the tent's exit. She kept prodding me towards the door as fast as she could. Why was she so anxious to get rid of me? Did I walk in on something I was not supposed to?

_Damn Gaius influence, stop it! _I thought, catching myself before I said something stupid… again.

I turned my head as I dug my heels in, stopping the smaller archer from pushing me along. She grit her teeth and gave my back one hard shove that I shrugged off.

"Noire, why are you-"

"Have you gone deaf, damnable human cretin!?" Noire snapped, voice snarling at me with an aggression I did not think the mousy girl was capable of. I raised my brow as I turned around to face her, both surprise and mildly amused by her sudden outburst of anger, "I have given you an order and you should- should-"

Noire's fury faded, replaced by fear. Her face turned paler than normal and her eyes widened as she stared at something behind me. Her mouth snapped shut as I saw a shadow loom over her face. The black bird in the tent's rafters cawed excitedly down at us, making Noire somehow pale even more.

"Hm…" I nodded, "There's something terrifying behind me, isn't there?"

Noire nodded her head ever so slightly. As soon as she nodded, I heard a dark, sinister snicker that made my hair stand on end.

I carefully turned around, then froze. Standing right behind me, face much to close for comfort, was a mage with white hair. His robes were a mixture of black, purple, and gold. Heavier robes designed to withstand the harsh Feroxi cold. His eyes were closed as his lips were twisted into a sickening smile. It was the first time I had ever seen a smile that made me sick to my stomach.

The taller man bent a little at the waist, leveling his closed eyes with mine. Those eyes cracked open a little bit, showing icy blue irises. A shiver crawled up my spine as his lips parted, revealing teeth whiter than the fresh powder outside of the tent.

"Hello there." The mage grinned at me as a disturbing sparkle danced in his eyes.

"F-father I-" Noire stammered.

My heart stopped, _Oh fuck, it's Henry._

Henry's eyes darted to the shivering girl behind me, silencing her in an instant. His lips pulled back further as a light snicker slipped from his throat. I could feel his hot breath against my face as he glared at me.

"Who might you be?" He asked, tilting his head to the side, as if I was a specimen worthy of careful study.

I remained frozen in place, like a deer that knew it was in the hunter's sights. Fear paralyzed me. Henry was not a normal person, not even a normal mage. For the first time since I arrived in this crazy world, I was face to face with a dark mage. In all likelihood, the white haired man surpassed such a simple rank long ago and elevated himself to sorcerer status. The air buzzed around him with a cold energy that chased the warmth within the tent away and stole my breath from my body. This was a man that would not lose an ounce of sleep at night if I dropped dead in front of him. Hell, he'd probably play kickball with my skull once he stripped it of flesh, and he would smile the entire time he was doing it.

"Um… uh…" I swallowed hard as I caught sight of his teeth again. Was it just me, or were his canines sharper than normal?

"Father, he is nobody!" Noire finally squeaked out, "And he was just leaving."

"Hmmm…" Henry swept to the side. Gliding along the ground like a spirit, "A nobody would not make you so fearful, Noire." His breath brushed against my ear, making me involuntarily shiver. God why did he have to be so creepy? His eyes gleamed suddenly, "Is he an assassin? Oh tell me he is. For one, I'll be most impressed that one sent to kill me and the others got this far. For two," His eyes narrowed dangerously, "it's been a long time since I've studied a good cadaver."

A whimper left my lips.

"N-no, Father! Sam is not anything like that."

"Sam?" Henry strode around me, stepping between me and Noire before stopping on the other side of my body, "My daughter is on a first name basis with you?" He hummed to himself, "So it is even worse than an assassin?" I sucked in a sharp breath as I anticipated where he was about to go with this line of talking, "He's a potential suitor?"

Henry's eyes narrowed, and I felt my spirit leave my body. Every instinct in me was screaming: DANGER, DANGER, DANGER. I mean, he was wrong. I was not here to be a suitor for Noire. I just wandered into this tent out of curiosity, and because it was warm in here. The last thought on my mind upon entering this place was that there was someone else in here, least of all Noire and Henry.

I didn't even know Noire enough to even call her a friend yet. The archer tended to keep to herself, even when she was around the other future kids. I have exchanged five… maybe six sentences with her in the couple of months I have been stuck in this world.

For some reason, I got the feeling that Henry would be unconvinced by those explanations. Especially since Noire's face was redder than Anna's hair. Using my typical, very strong, not panicking skills, I finally managed to form some words in reply.

"Um… Um… uh…"

I never said they were good words.

Before I could blink, Henry reached around and yanked me to the ground by the hood of my cloak. My head snapped back, smacking hard against the ground. Stars danced in my eyes and my ears rang. I did not have much time to groan from the sharp blow as I suddenly felt myself being dragged across the tent towards an empty table stained with blood.

_Oh God! Oh Fuck! NONONONONONONO!_

"Father please, would you let me exp-"

With strength that shocked me, Henry flipped me up onto the table with one sharp tug on my cloak. I heard seams tear in the fabric, and for some reason my mind went from fear of Henry, to fear of Anna.

_If I'm not dead, she's going to be beyond pissed about the tear. _

My entire body tensed as a strange… I don't even know how to describe it. It felt similar to the healing magic I felt when Lissa and Maribelle fixed my knee, but there was also this icy feeling to it. Healing magic, while mildly distressing to someone who has never experienced it before, felt warm, even comforting. This was the furthest thing from comforting. It felt like a dozen cold hands were crawling along my bare skin. Poking and prodding along with needles like sharpness.

My eyes bugged out of my skull as purple bands of magic latched around my wrists and ankles, pinning me down to the table. Fight or flight kicked in, mostly flight in this case. I struggled against the magical bindings, but they did not budge. The more I struggled, the tighter they clamped down over my limbs. I heard Henry's evil snicker near my head. Like a terrified ostrich with nowhere to run, I decided if I could not see the scary thing, then it would not exist.

I squeezed my eyes shut as Henry's amused laughter echoed in my head. This had to be just a bad dream after all. I'm going to wake up in my cot back at the barracks like nothing even happened.

Hot breath brushed against my ear.

"I'm still here." I heard Henry whisper.

I whimpered, then I heard a knife slide from a sheath.

That did it. That made me scream for help. As I screamed, Henry slapped a hand over my mouth.

"Shhhhh…" Henry breathed, "I'll make it quick for you."

"F-father, he is not a s-suitor!" Noire stammered as she raced to my ankles, a spell book in one hand as she tried to find a way to dispel Henry's magic.

_I NEED MY HANDS MORE THAN MY FEET RIGHT NOW! _I thought as Henry kept my mouth gagged with his surprisingly strong hand.

Henry quirked an eyebrow, "Then he is an assassin. Either way, I get to open up a body."

"Oh?" A third voice entered the tent, causing Henry to pause right as he pressed his knife to my throat. "Do we have a new cadaver to examine?"

The voice, a woman's voice, spoke really fast. Like a semi-relaxed auctioneer. In the heat of the moment, with my heart hammering in my chest and blood rushing through my ears, I could barely keep up with it. My focus was on the razor sharp knife pressed to my jugular, not someone else talking.

"Laurent, hurry in here!" The woman ordered quickly, "Henry has procured another dead… body." The woman's speech slowed, "Henry, that one is still alive."

"I know that, Miriel." Henry snickered, "It means we can study fresh organs."

_Miriel!?_

With all the strength I could muster, I bit into Henry's hand. My teeth broke the skin, and I grimaced, quickly spitting out his hand as blood rushed over my tongue. The sorcerer let out a loud yelp, yanking his hand away from my mouth.

"Miriel! Miriel!"

I turned my head to see a pair of mages staring at me, brows raised. Laurent stood beside a middle aged woman with long brown hair, tied back in a bun. A large, pointed hat crowned her head. Glasses, fogged up by the sudden change in temperature, rested on the bridge of her nose. A thick tome rested in the crook of her arm, nestled in the warm embrace of her billowing robes.

Mirel and Laurent stared at me with not an ounce of surprise on their faces. Rather, they seemed to be studying me like a pair of distant scientists observing a caged animal. Laurent even cracked open his spellbook as Henry threatened to slide his knife across the delicate skin over my throat.

"Ah, interesting spell, Henry." Laurent muttered, "The restraints seem to be bolstered by a particularly potent amount of emotion. May I ask why-"

"He's a suitor for Noire." Henry grinned over at Laurent.

"I am not!" I cried. I heard Noire shout the same thing at the same time. A furious blush rested on her normally pale cheeks. My face remained white as a sheet as I stared over at Miriel and Laurent, "Laurnet, Anna sent me to find your mom! Please for the love of Jesus, Buddha, and Cthulhu, get this maniac away from me!"

"Aw," Henry pressed a hand to his heart, "He called me a maniac. Thank you so much."

"Not a compliment!" I snarled, panic rising in my voice.

Miriel leaned close to Laurent, "Is this the Samwise Anna informed me about?"

"It's Sam-" I bit my tongue. For all I knew, these crazy mages took names very literally. If I contradicted Miriel, then she might just let Henry slit my throat, "Yes! Yes, I am Samwise! Sam for short! Please tell Henry to piss off!"

"He's so afraid. Now he is getting angry." Henry cooed, smiling down at me like I was his new favorite toy, "I almost don't want to kill him."

Miriel glanced at Laurent again. Laurent gave her a simple nod.

"Henry, please retract the knife from Samwise's jugular." Miriel sighed, "There has been a clear misunderstanding here."

"I've been trying to say that but…" Noire trailed off as she muttered her last few words under her breath. She quietly closed her spellbook, face flush with embarrassment.

A small tsk came from Henry.

"You all never let me have fun anymore." He flicked the knife away from my throat, causing a ragged gasp to rush from my lungs, "You're free to go, Sam. If that even is your real name."

"It is!" I snapped as the magical restraints fell away with a wave of Henry's hand.

I jumped off the table and scrambled behind Laurent. The tall mage arched an eyebrow as I kept him between me and the still smiling Henry.

"You are more than welcome to entertain yourself with enemy corpses, Henry." Miriel chided, voice clipping through the air as she spun around and moved towards a shelf filled with potted plants. Most of which I could not recognize, "Allies are off limits."

"With their consent they are not." Henry remarked, his gaze focused on me.

"I never gave you my consent." I hissed back, fingers twitching to the dagger strapped to my lower back.

"You claimed to be Noire's suitor. I call that consent to be… questioned." Henry replied, folding his arms.

"Really!?" Laurent exclaimed, looking at me surprised.

"No!" Both Noire and I cried in unison.

"Their speech shows similar thought processes." Miriel hummed as she used some scissors to clip a few moldy leaves from a plant, "Perhaps they are more compatible than they care to admit?"

"I think Anna will be most disappointed." Laurent muttered, shaking his head at me.

"I am not-" I pinched the bridge of my nose, "God dammit, how did I get into this mess?"

_Bus… splat… ghost town… Risen… Frederick… scary redhead… that's how._

"You trespassed into my workshop." Henry pointed out with a smile, "That's how you nearly ended up with a bad case of the dead."

"You're work-" I sputtered, "How many of these places are there? And why the hell did I find this one when I was looking for yours?" I finished, gesturing at Miriel.

Miriel shrugged, "Perhaps you have poor navigational skills?"

"Entirely possible. He had no idea he was in Southtown when we first found him." Laurent nodded in agreement.

I grit my teeth, "I'm not some experiment to study."

"You were about to be." Henry snickered, jamming his knife into the table and walking past me. He headed over to a chest near the door and pulled it open, "What do you need today, Miriel?"

"I'm gathering some of your more medicinal ingredients." Miriel put a finger to her chin, "Although, I could use a few new vials."

"Got plenty of those." Henry snickered as he rummaged through the chest. I heard some glasses clink as he reached for a few vials, "Poisons aren't sought out very much anymore. Right Noire?"

"R-right." Noire gulped, shivering a little bit at the mention of poisons.

I took a deep breath as my racing heart finally started to slow. Henry did not have a threatening gleam in his eyes anymore. Noire, while still jittery, was not freaking out, which meant I was probably safe. Safe being a very relative term to use around a Sorcerer that was going to kill me just so he could study my insides. As long as I was in this tent, I was going to keep someone between me and the insane mage. That someone right now was Laurent.

Henry tossed a few vials over to Miriel, who deftly caught them one by one and shoved them into a bag she had slung over her right shoulder.

"Laurent, Samwise." She gestured for both of us to follow her out. Something I was more than happy to do. The faster I could get away from Henry and his House of Horrors, the better.

My brief time spent in Henry's sweltering workshop made me forget just how freezing it was throughout the rest of the military camp. As soon as I stepped out of the tent, trailing quickly behind Laurent and Miriel, a blast of wind slammed into me. Droplets of sweat froze to my skin, and my teeth chattered. As I walked away, I felt eyes following me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Henry smiling gleefully at me, one hand waving to me. Like I was a nice visitor leaving after a family get together. The crow that cawed at me earlier landed on his shoulder.

"Come back soon, Sam." Henry beamed at me before disappearing back into his workshop.

_Not likely. _I thought, swallowing hard.

"Samwise, keep up!" Miriel snapped back at me.

I jumped and rushed after her and Laurent. Once I caught up to them, my foot caught on a patch of ice, nearly causing me to fall flat on my back. Laurent reached out and helped me balance myself out as we walked.

"You are quite clumsy. Did you know that, Samwise?" Laurent asked.

"Perfectly aware, trust me." I sighed, brushed some of my brown hair from my eyes. _I really need to get that cut. _"Anna makes sure to point that out to me about every hour or so."

Miriel chuckled lightly in front of me and Laurent, "Do not take Anna's harsh criticisms to heart. She only desires to mold you into a capable combatant and scout."

"The criticism does not bother me." I replied, patting Laurent's shoulder as a thank you for keeping me from falling down, "The knives to the throat do."

Miriel paused and glanced back at me, puzzled. I subconsciously rubbed at my throat, cold fingers brushing along the sensitive skin where Henry pressed his knife.

"Henry's not the first." I winced.

Laurent laughed softly, "Perhaps you really are a lucky survivor, Samwise. Not many could stare down the killing intent of both Anna and Henry then come out unscathed."

"Yeah… unscathed." I replied, sarcasm thick in my voice, "Anna did leave a small scratch."

"Nothing a vulnerary couldn't fix." Miriel said, waving off any of my concern, "Personally, I'd be more anxious about Henry than Anna. The War has affected us all in different ways. Anna has hardened herself. Henry meanwhile has… has… Laurent, how did Brady describe him again?"

"As if Grima himself decided to be on our side in this war." Laurent replied, voice even, "I fail to see such a comparison. Henry hardly resembles a dragon."

"He's just as terrifying." I interjected as the three of us reached another large tent.

Unlike Henry's tent, this tent did not have a putrid scent filtering out of it. It was warm, like Henry's, but not blazing hot. When we entered, I could instantly see the difference in priorities between Henry and Miriel.

Miriel's workshop was flawless. I did not see a single speck of dust on any shelf or book in the place. Every single tomes and volume on her bookshelves were color coordinated and labeled. Her plants were carefully pruned and tended to. Not a hint of mold rested on any of the leaves or stems. There were no tables with dried blood crusting over them, thank God. The most disorganized part of the tent was a pair of desks near a small window in the tent wall. Some notes were strewn over the desks. A few inkwells kept those notes from fluttering away with any passing breezes.

A low whistle came from my lips.

"It's like a lab in here." I muttered.

Laurent gave me a confused look. I quickly realized my misstep and cleared my throat.

"A- er… very clean." I coughed into my hand.

"Of course." Miriel crowed, a hint of pleasure in her voice at my compliment. The most emotion I had heard from her so far, "Clean conditions make for the best study. I only ever venture into Henry's space when I require much deadlier ingredients to experiment with. Besides, this workshop is more for research than actual experimentation."

I nodded in understanding as I glanced at the various titles on the bookshelves. Most were magical tomes. Somes spells I recognized; such as Bolgannone, Rexcaliber, I even saw a Thoron tome. Others I was more unfamiliar with and could barely pronounce the names. A shelf above those were a bunch of books with handwritten notes outlining what the pages contained. A large majority had to do with Archanean mythology. Specifically centering around Naga, Grima, and-

My eyes widened as I noticed a book titled, _The Emblem Gems._

_Huh… _I thought, working my jaw back and forth as I noticed the spine on that book was well worn.

My lazy walk took me by Laurent and Miriel's desks. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some of their notes. I saw words that made me pause and my breath lodge in my throat. Words such as _Sable,_ _Vert, _and _Ritual_.

"You guys must be studying something important." I muttered, reaching for a page of notes, only for my hand to be smacked away by Miriel.

"It is none of your concern." She replied cryptically. She grabbed the notes I was glancing at and quickly shoved them into a desk drawer, "Anna requested that I educate you on basic alchemical remedies that can be applied in the field."

I gave her a puzzled look. Laurent cleared his throat.

"She's going to teach you about plants." He translated.

"Right, thought so." I nodded. I cracked my knuckles and looked around at all of the plants growing in what was basically an artificial greenhouse/portable library, "How do we do this?"

Miriel put a finger to her chin, "Normally, I would spend several days teaching you simple things that you can take notes on. Allow your intellect to catch up with what we will be discussing. But, seeing as how Anna made it clear we are pressed for time, I will have to accelerate your learning." Miriel moved to some plants with a variety of strange berries on them. She plucked one off of each plant, "We will move right into hands on learning."

I eyed the berries warily, "Hands on?"

In the back of my mind, I heard the Chemistry Teacher from high school that I never paid attention to speaking to me. One of the few things I listened to in that class were the rules. Her biggest rule: Never taste anything!

_And here's the mage telling me to eat some strange berries._

"Do not worry." Miriel said, placing the berries into my hand, "If there is any negative reaction, Laurent is on standby with remedies and antidotes."

I turned pale, "Antidotes?"

"Of course." Miriel took a seat at her desk, crossing one leg over another. She grabbed a quill, dipped it in ink, and scratched some words onto a piece of parchment, "Some medicinal remedies require poisonous ingredients."

My mouth turned dry as fear latched onto my heart again.

_I traded one maniac for another. Only this one wants to kill me slowly… for science._

Miriel tapped her quill against her desk, regaining my attention.

"You may begin, Samwise."

I swallowed hard, my nervous gaze descended on the various berries in my hands.

_Here we go._

Without thinking, I gulped all of them down at once. A sharp gasp came from Laurent as I chewed and quickly swallowed. Miriel stared at me wide eyed, her quill no longer scratching against her parchment. I gave both of them a confused look.

"What?"

"Um…" Laurent gulped.

"Laurent," Miriel took off her glasses and wiped them off with her robes, "Fetch Maribelle please."

My confusion grew, "Why do you need to-"

Laurent sprinted out, making my concern grow. I turned to address Miriel.

A burning sensation erupted in my stomach. It felt a little bit like heartburn. As if I had decided to eat chicken wings that were way too spicy for me to handle. Unlike hot wings, the burning did not go away. Instead, it crept up my esophagus, making it difficult for me to catch my breath.

"Oh…" I croaked, "That's um," I staggered against a shelf, balancing against it as my strength left me. For some reason, I felt my tongue getting bigger. My ears felt hot and my nose felt cold. I glanced over at Miriel and narrowed my eyes, "Was your face always purple?"

I slumped to the ground, head swimming. Strange colors washed over my vision. My swollen tongue made it impossible to articulate any words as Miriel sighed and moved for a potion in her desk. All the while, as she grabbed her potions, and as Laurent returned with a clearly irritated Lady Maribelle, I remained delirious.

_Probably should've done that one at a time._

* * *

Well… Maribelle managed to get some of the swelling down. I could actually breathe without inhaling my entire tongue, so that was a plus. Add in the different potions shoved down my throat, and I felt somewhat normal. Still, the extremely irritated Noblewoman from Themis put me on bed rest for the next two days. On the bright side, that meant Miriel could not just experiment on me, she had to actually teach me. On the downside, I was stuck in bed. Being stuck in bed while living in Medieval Fantasy Fun Time Land is not as fun as it is back home. At least back home I had Netflix to entertain me. Now I had a stone wall, a flickering fire, and that's it.

Being put on bed rest sucks.

I sighed and sank back into my pillow. My face twisted funny as I felt some of the straw inside of the pillow tickle the nape of my neck. I huffed, scratched at that spot, then shifted, feeling the straw crinkle beneath my head.

_Yeah… I'm going to sleep great tonight. _I thought with a sarcastic huff.

As if to really hammer home a punishment for my stupidity, Maribelle told the kids that I was not allowed to see anyone. Apparently my reaction to the berries had been so severe that I was not capable of forming coherent words or thoughts. While true at first (for a while there I thought I was smelling sound and hearing colors), after the remedies took effect, I was capable of holding a conversation, albeit with a really bad slur to my voice. Stupid swollen tongue

_What even were those berries?_

A knock sounded on the door, making my gaze snap over to it. I furrowed my brow. Someone was about to break Maribelle's rules. Brady doesn't have the nerve to do that. Severa probably did not give a crap about me at the moment. Cynthia and Owain… they might be chaotic enough to say screw the rules. But would they bother me if they knew I was not feeling well? Seemed unlike them. Kjelle was probably busy training. As for the other kids, I doubted I knew them well enough for them to bother saying anything to me. Hell, I barely knew the kids from Ylisstol very well as it is. I hardly ever hung out with them, except for maybe an hour or two every once in a while.

The knock sounded again. I cleared my throat.

"Come thin." I said with an involuntary slur.

The door cracked open, and I was surprised to see Morgan peeking her head in. I tilted my head and gave her a puzzled look.

"Morthan?"

"Oh, it's just a slur." Morgan breathed, quickly entering the room and shutting the door behind her, "Maribelle made it sound way worse than that. Swollen tongue still?"

I sighed and nodded. Morgan winced.

"That sounds… not fun." She walked over to the chest at the foot of the bed and took a seat, "What were you even thinking?"

I shrugged as I propped myself up against the wall behind the bed, "I wathn't."

"Ah." Morgan nodded, "Your brain took a vacation. I get it. That happens to me sometimes. Although, it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence."

I raised an eyebrow. Morgan grimaced.

"It's just…" Morgan sighed, "You're our new scout, right?"

"In thraining." I clarified, clearing my throat again as I fought to get rid of the slur in my voice.

Morgan's eyes widened, "Anna and Gaius took you out while you were still training?"

I nodded.

"Are they nuts?"

I shrugged, "It wath Gaiuth choith."

A heavy sigh slipped from Morgan's lips, "Of course it was. Let me guess, he told you the best way you could learn is by doing it, am I right?"

I pursed my lips and nodded.

"Yeah, that works for some people, but not so much for others. I mean," Morgan snorted, "I should know. My father tried to make me learn magic by just doing it at first. Took him a little while before he realized I learned best by doing bookwork. Now Sev on the other hand, you can't get her to read a book. She learns best by swinging her sword at someone."

I nodded, "Maketh senthe." I swallowed hard and coughed, "I've been on the receiving end of her way of learning once before."

Morgan smiled at me, "Sounds like the swelling is finally subsiding, good." Her smirk widened, "And have you?"

"She decked me." I admitted sheepishly.

Morgan hummed to herself. Her grin widened as she opened her mouth to speak again, "Well I hear you gave her a good kick yourself."

I drew back in surprise, "Who told you that?"

"She did." Morgan shrugged, "You might think Severa is some cold, dismissive person. But… privately, she cares about everyone a lot. Especially you. She still feels like she owes you. By the way, I need to say thanks for that as well."

"Thanks for what?"

I froze when Anna sauntered into the room. Her red eyes darted over to me, and I could see the merciless look in them right away. I sank a little in my sheets, trying to duck my face behind the fur blanket. I knew I was about to get a tongue lashing, but it looks like Morgan was preventing it for now.

_Keep the conversation going! _I reminded myself, mostly out of self preservation.

"Well, he saved Sev's life, right?" Morgan flicked her gaze back to me, "You took an ax for her, didn't you?"

I gulped as I recalled that exceptionally painful experience. I have been having a lot of those recently, but an ax tearing into my side certainly topped the list for me. Every day when I got dressed, I could still see a faint scar running from my hip to the base of my ribs. Lissa did a remarkable job healing it, better than a lot of surgeons in a modern hospital even. But it still burned whenever I thought about it.

"Yeah." I croaked. I cleared a frog from my throat, "Why are you thanking me anyways?"

Morgan shrugged, "Sev's… well, she's family. So I've gotta thank you." She glanced back at Anna. Anna nodded towards the door, signaling Morgan to get out. "Well," Morgan rose from her seat, "I hope you get better soon, Sam. We'll chat more some other time." She finished with a smile.

The young tactician quickly exited, shutting the door behind her with a quick click. As soon as she was gone, Anna's more amicable nature evaporated. She turned to face me, and gave me one of the most exasperated looks I have ever seen from her.

"_All _of them?" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "You ate _all_ of the berries at once?"

"Miriel did not tell me to only have one at a time." I replied defensively.

"That's…" Anna massaged her eyes, a long groan escaping her lips as I effectively managed to irritate her so much that she was past the point of anger, "That's common fucking sense, Sam."

I uttered a nervous chuckle, "You should already know I don't have a lot of that."

"Yeah, well you're going to need it!" Anna snapped quickly. My laughter died in my throat as I realized she was not playing around with me, or teasing me. She was deadly serious. She took a few steps forward, hands on her hips as she glared at me, "You still think this is a game, don't you?"

"Yeah, well-"

"Yeah, well nothing, Sam!" Anna shouted again, "Naga, you just… you just don't get it, do you?"

"Don't get what?" I said back, a bit of anger rising in me as I stared incredulously at Anna, "Yeah," I nodded, "You are absolutely right. I don't get it. I mean, how could I? Do you want to know the closest I have ever been to death, before I arrived in this world, Anna? Other than when I was literally killed by a fucking bus, the closest I have ever been to death was when I choked on a Fruit Roll-Up wrapper back when they still came slapped on plastic. I was eight."

She gave me a confused look. Right as she opened her mouth to cut in, I raised my hand, daring to silence her.

"I don't expect you to know any of that is. But just so you know, a Fruit Roll-Up is a delicious sweet treat and Gaius would fucking love it!" I snorted, "Yeah, I don't get it. In my world, we don't have swords, magic, monsters… well, of the kind you know. Hell, people in my world have not had to live like this," I gestured at the stone walls warmed by a small fire around me, "for nearly two hundred years! The last time swords were the primary weapon in a battle was, I think four hundred years before I was even born! So yes, forgive me if I don't get it!"

My voice rose as I started to shake with frustration and fear. Air shot in and out of my lungs as adrenaline pumped through my veins, to the point where I found it difficult to catch my breath. I wiped at my eyes, feeling some tears building in them.

"I am so in over my head it is not even funny! I mean for Christ's sake, I have nearly died how many times now!? I would think that would clue you in as to how out of my depth I really am. Unless you literally could not give a shit and only see me as another body to throw at an enemy I did not know was real up until two months ago. I mean just…" I hissed and screamed at the top of my lungs. A sharp breath shot into my lungs after the scream, and I buried my head in my hands, "I need some goddamn Tylenol."

I wheezed, struggled to catch my breath, then slumped back into my pillow. I felt lightheaded, and my entire body felt completely sapped of energy. I could feel the veins in my temples pulsing as I fought tears off. Spots danced in my eyes. I reached up and rubbed at them with the back of my hands, a sharp sniffle shooting from my nose as I moved.

"Well?" I croaked breathlessly, "Got anything for that?" I glared up at a dead-silent Anna, "No witty tease? No sharp comeback or criticism?"

Anna furrowed her brow. I could see anger washing over her face as her cheeks heated up. I fully expected her to shout back at me. Imagine my surprise, and mild sense of caution, when she closed her eyes, shook her head, and took a seat at the foot of my bed.

"Feel better?" She muttered, voice deathly still in the warm room.

I swallowed hard, "I don't have my fucking Tylenol. So no, I don't feel much better." I shifted in my seat, "But that scream felt damn good."

Anna actually snorted out a quiet laugh, "I bet." She pursed her lips as she sat quietly for a moment, "Sam," She continued, "I'm… I don't think of you as another body to throw at Grima. If I thought that, then I would not even bother yelling at you." Her hand rubbed her arm as she took a deep breath, "Sam, I'm as hard as I am on you because I don't want to see you die. Understand me?" Her red eyes bored holed into me as she spoke, "You are… you're a really good person, Sam. I mean, if I was in your shoes when you first arrived, and I saw that Risen swinging for Severa-" She snorted to herself, "I would probably have let her die. Saved my own skin instead. But you… you didn't even know her, and you threw yourself in the way to save her. We need more people like that in this world, Sam. Good people are few and far between anymore." A wry, regret filled smile crossed her lips, "The end of the world tends to bring out the worst in us."

I swallowed hard, not sure how to react to this other side of Anna. The Anna I knew was a no-nonsense, suck it up buttercup kind of person. A woman hardened by long travels on the road, ruthless negotiations with the savviest of merchants, and surviving the apocalypse. This Anna, the one sitting at the foot of my bed with a quiet voice and a vulnerable slouch, was a far cry from that.

She hung her head, biting her lip as she grimaced in pain.

"You're not the only one to break down in this sort of situation, Sam." She admitted, voice so quiet I could barely hear her, "I-" She caught her words, quickly snapping her mouth shut. As if she were afraid to continue with this line of conversation. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, "Look, I don't want to end up in a deadly situation and see the Risen get you too, Sam. We're short enough on good soldiers as it is, let alone good scouts. Just… rest for tonight. I'll stop by in the morning. We'll do some training together."

She patted the fur blanket over my legs and got to her feet, wincing a little bit before reaching for her right knee.

"Naga, that did not feel right." She grumbled.

A laughed quietly, "I know that feeling."

"Thanks to Cynthia? Yes, I'm aware." Anna chuckled back. She moved to the door. As she twisted the doorknob she paused, "Also… I already spoke to Henry."

I paled, "Oh?" I whimpered.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Don't worry so much about him. That is how he is with everyone nowadays. Ever since Tharja… ever since Tharja vanished he's been a lot more unhinged. I mean, I warned him that if he ever tried to hurt you again, I'd stick a knife down his gullet. Do you know what he said?"

I shook my head.

"He said, 'a knife would taste funny'. Then he laughed, and walked away."

"Oh." I replied, sucking in a breath.

Anna nodded, "Yeah. If you want my advice, steer clear of him. Better for your long term health that way." She took a deep breath, "Also, not a word to anyone about-"

"You're still a hardass to the other kids, don't worry." I moved my fingers over my mouth, "Lips are sealed."

Anna smirked, "Good." She opened the door, "Get some sleep. I'll be waking you bright and early tomorrow."

She shut the door behind her, leaving me alone in the small room once more. Wind hammered against the window panes, threatening to invade my space with winter's frozen fangs. Strangely enough, I did not mind so much this time. I still felt an intense amount of anxiety over this entire situation. I mean, I've been on the verge of a mental breakdown for a while now, getting hit by a bus, all on it's own, can do that. Yet, Anna knew exactly how to ease my worries at that moment. At least, she eased them enough that I did not struggle to fall asleep when my eyes finally became heavy, and I drifted off with a warm fire crackling across the room.

**And chapter! Again, a more character heavy chapter. We have been officially introduced to Noire's insane, borderline serial killer, father. We get to have another small Anna and Sam moment (which are becoming way too much fun for me to write). And we get to see Morgan, Miriel, and Laurent for a bit. All fun stuff. In the next chapter or two, we'll really get this plot rolling. Someone has to rescue the Princess after all. **

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	13. A Fly on the Wall

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 13

A Fly on the Wall

Good news! The poisoning did not last past the night. I could genuinely call Maribelle a miracle worker, even though I should've already known that after she and Lissa fixed my knee. That joint did not give me problems anymore. The fact that she was able to heal me from my unintentional poisoning should not have been a surprise. Then again, magic is still something I'm trying to get used to. Magic back home is just simple tricks and nonsense. Most of it I could not figure out, nor did I try to. I liked the mystery behind magic shows, and the fun little tricks involving cards and stuff, but there were never any actual spells. Those were saved for books… or movies… or… well, video games.

Still hard to believe I'm technically stuck in one. Every morning when I woke in a bed that was not my small twin mattress in my apartment in Appleton, I would have to remind myself of that. I'm not sure I will ever get used to it. I've moved around a lot in my life, but shocker, I've never been transported to another world- er- dimension? Whatever it's called.

One thing I was surprisingly getting used to, Anna's ass whippings. They still hurt. Oh by God, they hurt badly. The bruises she gave me tended to linger longer than they should, especially since I have access to magical healing juice and healers. I guess she just hit that hard.

During our training, she never pulled punches. Which was consistent with her overall philosophy when training me. The world, the Risen, Grima himself; they would not hold back at all when I eventually fight them again. The best way to prepare for that was to train at full speed. No holds barred, bone crunching, sweaty, muscle cramping, training.

I wiped some sweat from my face. Despite the intense cold of Regna Ferox, Anna still managed to work me out till I was dripping with the stuff. Of course, that made me feel even colder. Sweat has a tendency to freeze when it's freezing out. Big surprise, I know. I guess Anna considered this part of hardening me up for the enemy.

I recalled what Raimi said when we first met her, and traveled with the Feroxi captain north to the Arena. 'The harsh winters make a Feroxi a Feroxi'. At this point, I was well aware of the Feroxi's reputation in war. They were unrivaled foot soldiers. Tough did not begin to describe them. Spartan was a bit closer. I witnessed them train briefly while I followed Anna out to the edge of camp to conduct our own training. Brutal: that was the only way I could describe it. It was no wonder they stood against Grima for so long.

_Maybe Anna is trying to make me as tough as them? _I snorted to myself, tightening my left hand around my long dagger and my right hand on the grip of my hatchet, _Not likely to happen. But at least she's trying._

Anna paced to and fro in front of me. From a distance, it looked like she had hardly broken a sweat. But whenever we got close, when our blades crossed and she proceeded to beat me like a red headed step child, I could see that was I finally starting to push her. I blocked her blinding fast attacks better. I dodged her throwing knives better. All around, I was doing a hell of a lot better, bruises be damned.

_They still hurt though._

She stopped her pacing and narrowed her eyes at me. I grit my teeth and readied myself. One thing I had learned about Anna during these training sessions, she is not patient. Not with me when it comes to training, at least. And I used that to my full advantage.

She charged, feet gliding over the ice and snow. I crouched low, making myself a smaller target as I anticipated throwing knives.

Instead, she barreled into me, surprising me with her strength as she lifted me off of the ground and body slammed my scrawny ass hard onto the icy ground. All of the air left my lungs when I hit the ground. Harsh coughs hammered my body as Anna pinned me down. My coughing came to an abrupt stop when I felt the point of one of her daggers jabbed beneath my jaw.

"Dead… again." She breathed.

Anna rose to her feet, giving my side a light kick with her foot. Her way of telling me to get up already. I raised a hand in response.

"Air…" I wheezed, motioning at my throat, "Can't... catch it."

Anna rolled her eyes, "Sit up." She commanded as I lay flat on my back.

I propped myself up on my elbows.

"All the way."

I grimaced and sat all the way up, every muscle in my body groaning in protest.

"Hands up. Lace those fingers behind your head. Open up your airways."

"Oh?" I wheezed, doing as she said, "I forgot about this."

Anna arched an eyebrow as she waltzed over to an icy boulder, where our water skins sat. She undid the cork and took a small sip, "Don't recall telling you about that before."

I shook my head, "You didn't." I inhaled deep, then exhaled, feeling the burning in them fade with each deep breath, "Football practice. Well… sports in general."

Anna looked at me, puzzled.

I hung my head, "It's a… football is a sport I am not good at."

"Why's that?" Anna asked, taking another sip from her water skin.

"You see how small I am?" I asked. She snorted out a small laugh, "Football is a big guy's sport. That or a mean guy's sport."

"And you are neither of those." Anna replied, "You are about as big as a reed." I hung my head, laughing under my breath at that, "And you are about as mean as Happy."

"I'll have you know, that dog tried to kill me."

"What does that say about how threatening you are then?" Anna remarked, flipping her dagger over in her hand as I got to my feet.

"Not much." I remarked with a wry grin, "But… I'm getting better."

I slipped on ice as I stood, and fell back on my ass. I winced, already feeling a fresh bruise down there. Anna shook her head, both exasperated and apparently amused.

"Yes, you are definitely getting better at being intimidating." She held out a hand to me.

I grabbed her hand. With a single, sharp tug, Anna yanked me to my feet. I winced as I stood up, one hand rubbing my back as I felt a lingering ache. Anna noticed this and nodded at me.

"I think this is a good time for a break." She remarked, spinning on her heel and walking over to the boulder. She grabbed my water skin and tossed it at me.

I snatched it out of the air and popped the cork, "You're letting me take a break?" She rolled her eyes at me as I spoke, "And you tell me that after I get up?"

"I can go back to kicking your ass if you want." She smirked, "But then I'll have to ask if you're enjoying it?"

My cheeks flushed, and she snickered.

"Besides," She continued, "You just told me something about your homeland. I'm kinda curious now."

I placed my water skin to my lips and gulped down the half frozen slurry that counted as water in these frigid conditions. My teeth crunched against the ice that was mixed with the freezing liquid.

"Curious about what?" I remarked, still munching on a hunk of ice that slipped into my mouth.

Anna shrugged as she sat down on the boulder, folding one leg over the other, "Never took you for someone who did sports."

I nodded, "For a time. Then the body broke down."

Anna raised an eyebrow, "You're not old like me, kid. You shouldn't be breaking down at all. Did you not get enough nutrition growing up?"

I scoffed, "If you ever saw the pantry in my world you'd think my family was royalty." I sniffed as some of the cold air rushed through my nose, irritating it. I furrowed my brow, "This place has sports?"

Anna nodded, "Different kinds, depending on where you are. Never paid much attention to them myself. Fighting is a favorite all over the place. Or… it used to be."

"Ah, boxing." I nodded, "Mixed martial arts." I chuckled a little bit, "Watching two guys beat the shit out of each other is pretty entertaining. Although, I think you'd enjoy the lopsided matches given how much you apparently get off on beating me up."

Anna folded her arms, "I don't get off on it, Sam. I'm just trying to get you up to everyone else's level. That way, when you are put in a situation where you have to fight-"

"I'll be ready." I finished for her, taking another sip of water, "Yeah, I'm aware. How am I doing, by the way?"

Anna shrugged, "I broke a sweat today. So there's some progress."

"Ha! I knew it!" I cheered, spinning in a circle like a victorious little kid, "You were breathing heavy!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You've still got a ways to go." Anna replied, an amused expression on her face. She kicked at some ice at her feet, chipping away small bits with the toe of her boot, "So, what did you do other than sports? You clearly didn't do any fighting."

"When I was really little, my dad tried to get me into martial arts. That didn't go too well." I replied, half walking, half limping over to the boulder and taking a seat beside her. My breaths were still heavy as I recovered from the ass whipping I had just received. I glanced down at my feet, "Kinda wish I paid attention more, now that I'm here."

"Mmm… so your father was a fighter?"

"He was a soldier." I replied, "So yeah, he was a fighter."

Anna blinked in surprise, "I would not have taken you to be the son of a soldier."

"Too fragile?"

"Like a porcelain doll."

I laughed a little at that, "Yeah well," I jammed the cork back into my water skin, "He wasn't around enough to really change that."

Anna's expression softened a little bit, "War?"

"Wars." I corrected, "My world, despite the advances in technology, medicine, overall quality of life, is not a peaceful one by any stretch of the imagination. But that's not the only reason. He was also a bit of an ass."

"Ah, and so you rebelled by not being a soldier." She surmised with a nod.

"Bingo."

"So what did you do then?"

I furrowed my brow, "Like for a living? Or for fun?"

Anna shrugged, "Why not both?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line. This was not something I expected. Anna never really got into personal details with me. She never shared anything about her personal life, at least not intentionally. I did know the dragon brooch on her breast was very important to her, but that was about all I knew about her personal life. What little I knew about her came from her supports in the game, of which there was surprisingly little. Then again, I could be remembering wrong. It's been awhile since I played Awakening in its entirety.

_I'll probably never play it again at this rate._

"Hm… well…" I pursed my lips, "My life was… boring."

"Boring? In a world with those, light thingys?"

"Phones?" I said with a small life, "You'd be surprised by how monotonous those things get after a while. It's like books in this world. They're just there. You aren't fascinated by them at all."

"I don't know about that. I can lose myself in a good book every now and then." Anna replied, fingers tapping her waterskin, "It's been a long time since I've done that though. Used to read all the time on the road, whenever I stopped for the night. World was a lot safer then, even with the bandits, raiders, and the occasional war." She took a deep breath, "Don't suppose there were books where you're from?"

I popped the cork to my waterskin, "There were a lot of books. I love reading."

Anna gave me a surprised look, "Really?"

I nodded.

"Favorite genre." She asked.

"You first." I remarked.

For the first time ever, I managed to make her sputter, "We- erm- nuh uh- not going there."

"Oh? Now you have me curious." I said with a slight laugh.

"Shove that waterskin down your throat already, before you put your foot there instead." Anna said quickly, a slight tinge of red rushing over her cheeks.

"Okay, fine." I sighed, "I'm a fan of fantasy."

She arched an eyebrow at me.

"Y'know," I motioned with my hand, "Magic, knights, king and queens, mythical creatures and grand adventures."

"So the way you are living now?" Anna replied with a slight laugh.

I blinked, "Well shit, I did not think of it like that before." I drew back, "I'd put this world more in the grim dark fantasy category rather than something Tolkien would write."

"I'm guessing Tolkien is a fantasy writer."

"_The _fantasy writer, and don't you forget it." I swiftly correct, "He wrote some of my favorites. _The Hobbit_ being chief among them. Although, that's not the work he's most famous for."

"Interesting." Anna nodded, "What else?"

"Well-"

I stopped talking as I glanced back over at Arena Ferox. My brow furrowed as a Ylissean rider came riding full speed towards us. Anna sat straight up when she noticed him too. Her jaw clenched tight while my stomach churned. There could only be one reason a rider was rushing towards us like that: bad news.

His horse whinnied as he yanked on the reins, slowing down in front of us.

"Miss Anna, Samwise, I was sent to fetch you by Lady Tiki." The rider said breathlessly, face pale with fear.

I glanced over at Anna. The merchant hopped off of the boulder.

"Can I ask why?"

"A visitor." The rider swallowed hard, "Not a good one."

Anna's eyes widened. I looked at the rider puzzled.

"What's not a good visitor?"

"Grima sent a messenger?" Anna breathed, stunned.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

_That's definitely not a good visitor._

Anna took off back to the Arena. I hesitated a moment, then willed my sore, stiff legs to follow her. I knew I would not be able to catch up, but I could not afford to not be there right now. A messenger from Grima sounded rare. And, as with anything that had anything to do with the Fell Dragon, it was never a good sign. It affected all of us, and I did not plan on being blindsided by Risen again.

* * *

To say everyone was tense within Arena Ferox would have been an understatement. Every single Feroxi soldier guarding the long, wide corridors and the heavy doors looked fearful. The Ylissean soldiers by their side appeared petrified as Anna and I strode quickly through a tunnel near the base of the Arena. A tunnel that led to the center field of the Arena. A place that was once the center of festivities in this frozen county was now going to be the sight of a terrifying standoff.

Anna and I paused as we neared the tunnel exit. She spun around to face me, the faint light of the outside world silhouetting her.

"Listen, keep your wits about you." She said, voice hushed in the frozen air. Breath misting in front of her face, "Grima has never sent a messenger before. So I have no idea what to expect."

I swallowed hard and nodded. A hint of hesitation filled me, "Are you sure I should be-"

"You may be a kid, but you aren't one of the kids." Anna replied quickly, "You're mature enough to know when to listen to me, and when to act on your own. Even if those actions tend to be idiotic."

I nodded, "I'll take the compliment."

"Good. Depending on how this goes, this may be the last one you get."

With grim determination on her face, Anna turned towards the exit and marched up the sloped surface into the Arena. I trailed behind her, shivering as a biting cold wind swept down from the grandstands surrounding us.

My eyes widened as I stepped out onto the snow covered center stage. The Arena looked massive from the outside, and it looked even larger from its center. The closest I could compare it to was stepping onto a professional football field, seeing the stands ascend high into the sky all around you like a massive shell. Only this shell was stone and concrete instead of steel. If this is what seeing the Coliseum is like then I regretted never going to see it.

Any awe I felt faded quickly as Anna hissed at me, returning my mind to reality. I turned and continued following her over to a group of people standing near the center of the arena. Soft, powdery snow crunched beneath my footfalls as we approached Exalt Lissa, Lady Tiki, Captain Raimi, and Frederick.

Anna and I drew up alongside Frederick. The Knight nodded at Anna then turned his impassive gaze to the tunnel directly across from us. I furrowed my brow in confusion as I noticed we were the only ones within the arena. Before I could question why we were all alone, an iron gate groaned in the opposite tunnel. Chains creaked as the gate shuddered then ascended.

My heart jumped to my throat as a lone figure stepped through it. A figure covered head to toe in black armor. A black cape torn and tattered rested over its shoulders. Its face was hidden behind a black helmet and mask. But through the eye holes of the helmet, I could see crimson eyes glowing at us.

A sense of menace slammed into me. The air somehow became colder, if that was even possible. I gritted my teeth behind my frozen lips as my hands tugged my cloak further over my shoulders. I was tempted to draw my hood, but I also feared that it would draw attention to myself. After all, no one else was attempting to hide their identities. The last thing I wanted was for whatever this thing was to look at me and grow curious.

_Just stay quiet, Sam. _I thought, my breaths quickening as the Thing paused a few meters away from us, _Be a fly on the wall._

Something peculiar caught my eye about the visitor. All of us standing in front of him had breath misting in front of our face, especially Tiki. Raimi and Anna not so much, probably because they were more used to the cold. But this Thing standing before our small group did not have a single hint of fog coming from his helmet. The knot in my throat tightened as those red eyes narrowed at all of us, studying us for a moment. Daring us to speak to it already.

Tiki was more than happy to oblige.

"This is a strange occurrence." The powerful Manakete said, green eyes focused like lasers on the messenger, "I was not aware Grima knew how to parlay."

A hoarse rasp sounded from the helmeted warrior, making me shiver with fear. I could not tell if that was a scoff or a laugh, but I had a bad feeling that it was a laugh of the mocking variety.

"_It is a strange occurrence." _A voice like venom slipped from it's masked helmet, diving into my mind and slashing against my ear drums like a piercing hiss. I noticed Frederick's throat bob and Raimi's fist clench tight when it spoke. Lissa paled a little bit. Anna and Tiki remained like stone, unfazed, "_I did not expect to be received by you, Child of Naga. I expected the Khan to speak to me." _Another hoarse rasp rattled from the messenger, "_Is she… unwell?"_

"I doubt you are here to discuss our well-being." Tiki snarled back, "To whom do we owe the pleasure?"

It hissed again. I could not call it snakelike, because I had never heard a snake hiss in person before, and I also had a feeling that even a snake would be disturbed by the soft sound emanating from… whatever this thing was talking with.

"_Vykrik"_

My teeth started to chatter behind my lips. I wanted to believe it was from the intense cold permeating the air around me, but my brain knew better. This thing in front of made me feel terrified, and small. Smaller than I already physically was. It was not an imposing looking thing by any means, probably average in height and build. But the presence in exuded was nothing short of terrible. Without it even trying, I knew it could kill me and everyone in this yard, with the exception of Tiki, easily. Tiki was probably the only thing keeping the Thing wise.

Tiki inclined her chin, "Grima gives his servants names now? I wonder what brought that about?"

"_I doubt you are here to discuss my origins, Child of Naga." _The Thing, Vykrik, rasped.

Every syllable slipping from the dark void of its helm made me want to shake in my boots. Only the knowledge that some of the most powerful, and deadly, warriors in the land were right beside me kept me from crumbling in fear.

"Then what do you wish to discuss, Vykrik?" Tiki replied, unafraid to address the messenger.

It rasped again. A harsh sound, more mocking laughter.

"_If it were up to me, we would not be speaking. However, my will is not mine, but my master's. And my master wishes for me to deliver a message to you." _It raised a clenched fist and turned it over. It's long fingers splayed open, and two locks of blue hair fell onto the white floor.

Frederick reacted immediately, "Bastard!" He bellowed, reaching for his sword.

Raimi's hand snapped out and grabbed Frederick by his arm, preventing him from drawing his weapon.

I heard Anna utter a soft sigh at the sight of the hair. My eyes remained glued to it as well. Only one family in Awakening had that color of hair. I saw it on Cynthia, and she shared it with her father and her sister. Given what we already knew regarding Lucina…

_This is bad._

"_I guess you could say, I am here to discuss your well-being." _Tiki's green eyes narrowed dangerously at the messenger, "_Or, at the very least, the well-being of your precious little Princess." _It tilted it's head, crimson eyes glaring at a frozen Lissa, "_Unless of course you wish to negotiate."_

I heard Anna step towards Grima's messenger. I hardly registered her movement as she stepped around Tiki and approached the armored thing. Her hard gaze unwavering as she marched up to it.

"_Do you have a response?" _It rasped, voice shuddering as Anna stopped in front of it. As if it was excited to have one of its enemies so close to it.

The merchant glared up into the red eyes of the armored creature. In one, lightning fast motion, Anna drew her dagger and jammed it up through the creature's jaw. An ear splitting shriek reverberated through the air, causing me to cover my ears with my hands. Tiki winced and took a step back, one hand reaching up for one of her pointed ears. Frederick grit his teeth, placing an arm out in front of Lissa while Raimi remained unmoving.

"Take that back to the fucking Lizard." Anna left the dagger jammed into it's jaw as she stepped back.

The shriek ebbed away. Vykrik's eyes blazed and pulsed. It's hoarse voice rasped several times. An indecipherable noise that I wanted to say was laughter again, but it would not surprise me if it was enraged snarls. It's entire body shuddered. Pieces of armor peeled away in clumps of black ash. With a final rasp, it crumpled into a pile of the inky stuff, staining the snow where it once stood.

The icy fangs digging into my skin lost their grip. The fear that clenched my heart with a tight fist loosened, letting me exhale for the first time in a while. I doubled over, the knot in my throat moving down to my gut as Anna remained standing where Vykrik once stood.

As soon as my hands touched my knees, Lissa shoved her way past both Frederick and Raimi. She sprinted around Tiki and came to an abrupt stop where the locks of blue hair rested in the snow. One of her trembling hands reached down and plucked them from the powder. She swallowed hard and looked back at us, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Frederick..." She whimpered, lip quivering.

Frederick strode up to her, wrapping her up in his arms as the Exalt sagged against him, quiet sobs wracking her lungs. Anna took a deep breath and turned around, a snarl on her lips. She did not say anything to Lissa or Frederick. She marched directly at me. Not a word was spoken. She just nodded at me, beckoning me to follow her out of the Arena. I cast one last glance back at Lissa as the Exalt's mask of elegant strength crumbled away, then I followed the merchant out.

* * *

The mood within the barracks that evening was a toxic mixture of desperate and furious. Two emotions that I did not like, which made me shrink to a corner of the common room as the kids fumed within the warm space. I stayed silent the entire time, keeping to my philosophy of being a fly on the wall during times of crisis. It was less stressful that way… somehow.

Kjelle paced back and forth near the bar, fists clenched tight at her sides. Every so often, she stopped, grabbed the half empty bottle of firewine on the counter, and gulped down a swig of it before slamming the bottle back down and resuming her pacing.

Brady sat quietly at the bar while she paced. He gently swirled some firewine in a glass, glossy gaze focused on the mostly empty bar behind the counter. Occasionally, he would bring the full glass to his lips, ponder taking a sip, then set it back down in front of him with a sigh.

Severa fumed in her spot near the fire, eyes glued to the flickering flames. She refused to speak to anyone. The most acknowledgement she gave to anyone was a small grunt, signaling she heard them but did not want to give a response. Her mind was wrapped around figuring out a way to rescue Lucina. She already wanted to storm out and do that a couple days ago, but now with evidence of Lucina's capture, it took everything in the redhead not to just get up and go.

Cynthia was practically inconsolable. So much so that Morgan and Owain both left the barracks with her and went to the Arena, hoping to find some comfort with Exalt Lissa, Lon'qu, Tiki, or even Sir Frederick. Her sharp wails upon learning about the meeting in the Arena earlier today lingered like a haunting echo in all of our minds.

Two of the other kids, Inigo and Gerome (someone who had not said a single word to me this entire time), lingered by the window near the front door. Both of them were keeping an eye out for the Justice Cabal's return. The trio left an hour or so ago, and none of them had returned. But that was probably due to a massive snow storm that came barreling through the area about an hour ago, around the same time the kids exited. I could barely see a few meters beyond the barracks due to the amount of snow and ice that swirled through the air.

Yarne shivered next to the fire. Nah sat in a chair beside him, legs dangling in the air while a heavy book rested in her small lap. Laurent and Noire remained with their parents at their workshops, something I was semi-grateful for. Laurent was a good, sane buffer between me and his mother. Noire… well… the further away she was from me the less likely Henry would think I'm attempting to be a suitor for her.

I shook my head as I sank further into my seat.

_Am I seriously thinking about that now? _I glanced around at the teens sitting quietly in the barracks, _One of their friends is captured, maybe even dead, and I'm worried about me?_

I grimaced at that realization. I guess it was just easier to focus on something not so heavy, and that happened to be my situation with Henry rather than Lucina's capture. Hard to believe that thinking about someone who wanted to kill me for fun only a day ago was easier to think about right now.

I glanced down at my hands, folded neatly in my lap. I did this when I was nervous or anxious. Call it an involuntary reaction to those uncomfortable feelings that I was all too familiar with. Every time I felt this way, I would curl up into a tight ball. Or as tight a ball as I could manage without it being conspicuous. It happened to me on family road trips when I was younger. I'd tuck my legs close to my seat in the car, fold my hands in my lap, tuck my chin, and close my eyes as music blasted in my headphones. A meager attempt to block out my own nervousness about the world. Some things don't change between worlds it seems.

Severa snarled and rose to her feet. She marched up to a small pile of firewood lying beside the stone fireplace, grabbed a fresh log, and chucked it into the fireplace. The wood smacked hard against the stone at the back of the fireplace before nestling against its already burning companions. Without missing a beat, she turned to me.

"The hell is she doing in the bunkroom?"

I pursed my lips. By she, Severa was referring to Anna. Anna had been the one to tell all of them the news. She said it in a way so… callous and off handed that it honestly stunned me. As soon as she told the kids about the meeting, she retreated into the girl's bunk room and locked the door behind her. Making sure no one could follow her inside, least of all the two enraged kids, Severa and Kjelle.

I sighed, "You act like I can read her mind through a wooden door and solid stone."

Severa clenched her jaw, "You work with her, don't you?"

"She trains me." I clarified as I shifted beneath Severa's intense glare, "That doesn't mean I know what is going through or head, or what she is planning."

"She's probably planning nothing, like always." Kjelle sniffed, wiping a hand over her mouth as she continued her pacing, "I mean, this is Anna we're talking about. As soon as Grima popped up she wanted to get the hell outta here."

"B-but she didn't." Yarne stammered.

"Was I talking to you?" Kjelle glared at Yarne, making the Taguel shiver closer to Nah.

"Is that really necessary?" Nah asked Kjelle.

Kjelle shook her head and said nothing back. I furrowed my brow as Severa spun away, grumbling under her breath.

"Ya both need to just take a breath." Brady spoke up, voice much quieter than normal, "I'm sure Lady Tiki and the Exalt are thinking of something."

"What could they do?" A much quieter voice croaked. One I was unfamiliar with. I whipped my head around the room until I saw Gerome staring out the window, "What can any of us do?"

"Ah, the nihilist speaks." Kjelle huffed. She finally stopped pacing and sat down in a stool a few seats down from Brady, "Please, tell us how it's all hopeless and we might as well be dead."

"Am I wrong?"

"Very." Inigo sighed, "There's always hope as long as we-"

"Now you sound like Owain." Gerome grumbled, glancing at Inigo, "I doubt you're that naive." He glanced back out the window, faint wisps of his breath misting against the cold glass, "The Exalt and Lady Tiki will do nothing. Just as they've always done. Because there is nothing they can do." He pushed himself away from the window and glumly walked towards the guys bunkhouse.

"What makes you say that?" Severa snarled at him as he walked away from her.

"Experience." He replied, voice like gravel as he disappeared down the hall.

I frowned, "He's a lovely ray of sunshine, isn't he?"

"Heh," Brady sniffed, "Gerome's just-"

"Weak." Kjelle growled, "It's not hopeless right now, just hard."

I winced after that statement. There had to be an extremely good explanation as to why Gerome acted the way he did. I mean, when the world beats you down as much as it has these kids, and there is never any sort of reprieve, eventually all you know is misery. Gerome probably thought that instead of feeling miserable because of the misery, he would just accept it. I was not sure how healthy that kind of mindset was though. He hardly seemed happy with anything in the few moments I have seen him.

Inigo jerked away from the window.

"The Exalt is coming!" He hissed to all of us.

Severa's head whipped over to the door right as it was pushed open. A blast of icy wind carrying large puffs of snow shot into the room, making me shiver. Frederick held the door open as Lissa and Lon'qu strode into the barracks. Brady bowed his head a little bit as Lissa entered. Severa scowled and folded her arms. Inigo smiled at the trio, trying his best to remain the lone cheerful soul in this gloomy situation. Kjelle's face resembled stone as she eyed Frederick. Yarne kept his eyes averted from Frederick and Lon'qu. Occasionally he would glance up at Lissa, but he failed to find her usually gentle visage. Nah kept her nose buried in her book, unconcerned with everyone else around her.

The door clicked shut behind Lissa. Her appearance was a far cry from the sobbing woman in Frederick's arms a few hours ago. Any tears she had were long gone, replaced with grim determination that made her look strange to me. Lissa was not supposed to be this serious. Then again, I knew the game version of her. A version nearly twenty years younger and with nowhere near as much responsibility as the one that stood in the common room now. I saw an Exalt standing in the room, not a fun loving cleric. Somehow, that made me feel stronger in the face of this grim situation.

Lissa's blue eyes flicked over to me.

"Anna?"

I grimaced, "The door's locked." I warned as Frederick marched down the hall, following Lissa towards the girl's bunkroom. Lon'qu motioned for me to tag along as well. One glare from the swordsman made the rest of the kids stay in place.

I hesitated, but Lon'qu's glare turned to me, forcing me to rush after him, Frederick, and Lissa. As I made my way down the hall, I saw the girl's bunkhouse door slightly ajar. Lon'qu disappeared inside ahead of me. I stopped at the door and took a deep breath.

_The Exalt ordered you to come with. Anna won't be upset by that. Just… go in and-_

Lon'qu poked his head back out the door, reached for my shirt, and yanked me into the room, shutting the door behind me as soon as I was inside.

"Lissa, for once I am going to agree with Tiki." Anna said as I entered the room mid conversation.

"Of all the times for you to get along with her, you choose now?" Lissa sighed as she massaged her eyes. She sat slumped in a chair near Anna's bunk, exhausted.

"Yes." Anna replied as she stood near the window, watching the snow cascade down outside like a great white waterfall. She glanced back at Tiki, "This is so obviously a trap, Lissa."

"That doesn't mean she's dead!" Lissa shot back.

I sucked in a breath.

_Oh that's what they're talking about._

"Oh?" Anna turned away from the window and took a few steps towards Lissa, "And what do you suppose she is then? I don't recall the Fell Dragon being the type to take prisoners." She sighed as some tears bubbled in Lissa's eyes. The merchant looked down at her feet, "Look… maybe there is a chance she is alive. Maybe she has some value to Grima. I don't have any clue what that would be, but maybe that is the case. And that is a big maybe. Do we want to risk more lives on a maybe?"

"She is the princess and Chrom's daughter." Frederick growled, "We have to-"

"We don't have to do anything." Anna cut him off, "Honestly, that might actually take that fucking lizard off guard. He wants us to come after her, otherwise he would not have bothered with a messenger. This is purely meant to lure us into a place where he can easily kill all of us."

"He can already easily kill all of us." Lissa breathed, giving Anna a stark reminder that made the merchant's mouth close, "Why would he want to go this route?"

Anna shrugged, "Cause he's a sadistic bastard?"

Lon'qu snorted. A quiet sound that I assumed was his version of a laugh. Frederick scowled at Anna. Lissa rested her head in her right hand, her fingers massaging her brow as she nursed her exhaustion and what I assumed had to be a massive headache.

Anna took a deep breath, "Look, Grima has been one step ahead of us at every single point in this war. He knows how we think, he knows how we fight, and I guarantee he knows what it'll take to make us break. This could be his attempt to finally shatter us. Then all he has to do is mop up. Grima is powerful, and evil, but he's also shown himself to be extremely patient and pragmatic. That…" She gulped, "If I'm honest, that scares me a little bit."

"Why would he want to be patient?" Frederick wondered out loud.

Anna shrugged, "Beats me. Maybe he just gets off on our suffering. That's always a possibility."

"Do you believe Lucina is alive?" Lissa cut in, tone exasperated as she spoke, "Yes or no?"

Anna worked her jaw back and forth, "Gaius seemed to think so."

"Have we heard anything from him?" Frederick asked.

Anna shook her head, "Nothing, and now that messenger shows up? That's not a coincidence."

I swallowed hard, "You don't think Gaius has been captured too?"

Anna glanced over at me, "More likely he's been killed. He has no value to Grima." Lissa bowed her head, lip trembling as Anna spoke, "All that'll happen if we go after Lucina, is we will be adding to the body pile."

"Not if you do it." Lissa breathed.

Anna drew back a little bit, "I am not suicidal enough to-"

"But you are good enough to do it." Lissa rose from her seat, "You and Gaius are the best we have… had." She took a deep breath, "And you're more careful than he is. If anyone can infiltrate Grima's horde and find Lucina, it is you."

Anna shook her head, "That is a mission bound for failure, Lissa. I am a scout, not an infiltrator like Gaius."

"It wouldn't be the first time you've done it." Lissa pointed out, "I recall a Fort in Valm that you and Gaius both snuck into in order to rescue some of our Shepherds."

Anna snorted, "Valmese grunts, and Risen, are two very different opponents."

"Correct, Valmese grunts actually have a brain for you to compete against. Risen don't." Lissa pointed out.

Anna kept her arms folded tight over her chest as Lissa looked at her, eyes begging for Anna to do something. I remained standing near the door, continuing the fly on the wall policy. After all, it's gotten me this far.

"Please, Anna." Lissa took a shuddering breath, "I promised Sumia that-"

"I'm aware." Anna hissed. She wiped her mouth and huffed, "Fine." Lissa's eyes lit up, "but this is it for me."

The joy in Lissa's gaze evaporated. Anna glanced over at Frederick.

"After this, I'm done. I want a boat that'll take me far away from this doomed continent."

"We aren't doomed." Frederick argued back.

Anna snorted, "Keep telling yourself that. Regardless, I've had my fill of Archanea."

Lissa drew back, straightening to her full height as she regarded Anna. I could see some betrayal in her eyes as she stared stunned at the redhead.

"Fine." Lissa replied bitterly, "If you manage to save my niece I'd say you've more than earned a way out of here."

The Exalt spun on her heel and marched out without saying another word. Something I was a bit grateful for. It meant I would not be dragged into a tense conversation that I missed part of. Frederick opened the door for Lissa as they both strode out. Lon'qu nodded at Anna, then left with them. As soon as they were gone, Anna uttered a long groan and hung her head.

"This is stupid." She muttered, shaking her head as she trudged back to her bunk. She sank down onto the mattress, "Beyond stupid."

"It's um… brave." I spoke up, trying to reassure her.

Anna glanced over at me, "Brave is not something we're supposed to be right now. Brave gets you killed Sam. You should know that already."

I grimaced, running a hand along my side, "I'm still breathing."

"Cause you got lucky, Lucky." Anna reminded me. She sighed and shook her head again, "Naga, why do I let them talk me into this crap. If Grima caught Gaius then in all likelihood he killed both Lucina and…" She trailed off when she noticed my face drop, "It's our cruel reality, Sam. Best you get used to it."

"Hard to get used to something like that." I replied.

"Maybe." Anna rubbed the back of her neck, "But you don't have much of a choice. Especially since you'll be coming with me."

My stomach dropped. Anna rolled her eyes at me.

"Don't start telling me it's a bad idea. I'm already aware it is." Anna sighed, "But… if I don't make it back, you won't have anyone to show you the ropes. Besides, I'll feel better knowing I've got someone watching my back out there. Gaius may be content wandering the wilds alone nowadays, but I am not. Consider this learning on the job, only you're moving straight to the final exam. This mission won't be an easy one."

I swallowed hard. The lump in my throat growing larger as my own anxiety surged. I was about to go with Anna on a desperate rescue mission that she personally described as suicidal.

_And Gaius thinks I'm lucky?_

Anna dropped her gaze as she reached up and untied the ribbon from her red hair, letting the long locks fall down over her shoulders. She sighed and set the ribbon down on her bed.

"You look like you just got punched in the gut." She said, rising to her feet and moving to her trunk at the foot of her bunk. She popped it open and withdrew a loose, red robe.

I grimaced, "Well… you just said this is suicidal."

"Did I?" Anna replied, closing her trunk, "Hm… maybe I did. It's not inaccurate."

"Oh… great." I replied with dry sarcasm.

Anna snorted, "Jaded already, eh?" She shook her head and tossed the folded up robe onto her bunk, "Just stick close to me and you'll be fine, alright?"

I nodded.

"Good," She gestured to the door, "Now if you don't mind, I need to get changed. Make sure you pack your things tonight. We won't have time tomorrow morning. I plan on leaving before any of those damn kids even realize we're gone."

"Understood." I nodded, my voice quiet as I turned to leave, "It uh, shouldn't be a problem. Not like I have anything to pack." I grabbed the doorknob.

"And Sam-"

"Yeah?"

Anna glanced at me as she started undoing the buttons on her brown and yellow shirt, "Not a word to anyone."

I took a deep breath, "Got it."

I quickly exited her room before I saw anything I probably shouldn't. The door clicked shut behind me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

_And Gaius calls me Lucky. _I sniffed and shook my head, _That better be true otherwise I'm probably going to wind up dead._

I entered the guy's bunkroom, which was across the hall from the girls. When I entered, I noticed Inigo, Gerome, and Brady already inside. Inigo gave me a lopsided grin as I entered with a dark red blush. Gerome did not bother to look in my direction as he lay in his bunk, face staring up at the ceiling with his mask still over his eyes. Brady snickered to himself as he sat across from Inigo's bunk.

"See anything?" The Priest asked.

I gave Brady an exasperated look, "What do you think?"

Inigo chuckled with Brady, "Anna's letting him in her room now, what next?"

Brady shrugged, "Dunno, but I am curious."

"I'm-" I blushed furiously, grit my teeth, marched to my bunk, and flopped down in it. All the while Brady and Inigo howled with laughter.

"Aren't you all supposed to be sad right now!?" I cried, turning over onto my side to glare at them.

"We are." Inigo said, taking a breath, "But… sometimes you just need to laugh."

I shook my head at that. The resilience these kids had constantly amazed me. I rolled back over onto my back and stared up at the stone ceiling over my head. A chill lingered in the air from the snow storm battering against the window. I closed my eyes, trying to force myself to sleep. But sleep eluded me, mostly due to fear. I was about to go on a mission that I could very easily die on after all. A knot twisted in my gut. I thought about what Brady and Inigo were insinuating, feeling my cheeks heat up a little bit again.

The knot released as I uttered a light chuckle, then I drifted off.

**And chapter! Alrighty, Anna and Sam are on their way to rescue the Princess. Or at least try to. It's going to be one dangerous mission, that's for sure. We also get a peak at Grima's Envoy, Vykrik. An original creation of mine that I had fun coming up with.**

**Also, I am going to announce that I am pushing this story to a** _**two week update schedule. **_**Reasons? One: I am trying to juggle two fanfics at once, this one and **_**The Force's Shepherds**_**. Both are wildly different in tone, writing style, and scope, so it makes transition from one to another in just a few days (or even hours) in order to update them difficult. That sacrifices the quality of both, and I don't want to do that. My goal is to deliver high quality stories to you guys, and that means prioritizing and giving myself a little more leeway with my timetable. Second Reason: I am going to be adding a third project on my plate. An original novel (time to pursue the dream!). This fanfic has been a big experiment for me when it comes to writing in the first person, and it helped me visual an original concept a little better. So I'm going to get that started as well. It'll be slow going with it, but it's something I've been wanting to do for a while and I need to make the time to do it.**

**So, that's the news for today. Let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	14. Let's Just Drop the Subject

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 14

Let's Just Drop the Subject

I grunted as I hefted a burlap sack onto my shoulder, "Remind me again why I needed to pack all of this crap!?" I hollered up to the driver's seat of the cart.

Fresh snow fell in gentle puffs from a dark gray sky over my head. The sun had not yet risen, which left Regna Ferox even drearier than it normally was. Although, the soft touch of snow falling on my head did make me feel a little better. It reminded me of home, and the first snowfalls of winter that came in late October. When the snow in Wisconsin looked white and beautiful, before it turned gray and filthy due to muddy tires, snowplows, car exhaust, and shoveling. Even if I was completely sick of snow, seeing the first white snowfall always brought a smile to my lips.

I uttered a wistful sigh as my mind drifted back home. It was late November when the bus hit me and I wound up in another world. So, if time flowed the same there as here, then it was probably almost January by now. Still a winter wonderland in little Appleton, but another few months then the snow will melt, and they will all see what I liked to call "Fake Spring" back home.

I shook my head and reached for another heavy pack filled with various items. Anything from extra clothes, to rations and more waterskins, were stuffed in these few burlap sacks I had to heave into the back of the cart. I reached for one that felt particularly heavy and lumpy. Then another that felt the same. The third felt especially hard and lumpy. I furrowed my brow.

"Anna!" I called as she finished attaching the cart to the horse.

Anna poked her head out from in front of the cart, "Are you complaining again?"

I frowned, "What do you think?"

"That's a yes, and I'm not interested in hearing it right now." She huffed, rubbing her gloved hands before hauling herself up onto the driver's bench, "Did you get everything in the back?"

I glanced at the ground. No more burlap sacks or crates, thank God. My arms were already sore from picking those things up and tossing them into the cart. I wiped some sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, trying to make sure it did not freeze to my forehead.

_I wonder if Anna would let me snatch a hat for a little bit? _I thought as I rubbed my bare hands together, trying to warm up my numb fingers, _God damn, I thought I'd be used to this crap already._

I shivered as I marched around the cart, leather boots crunching in the fresh powder forming a deeper layer on the frozen ground. Once I got around the cart, I hauled myself up to my spot beside Anna and tucked my hands beneath my armpits.

"I'll take that as a yes." Anna muttered as she grabbed the reins to the cart, "Start communicating."

I glanced over at her while she snapped the reins, "Everytime I communicate, you call it complaining."

Anna shrugged, "So you need to learn a better way to communicate."

_You're not the first to tell me that. _I thought to myself, biting my tongue before I said something I knew I would regret. _Try growing up in a world where talking online is easier than talking in real life. _

The cart rumbled forward, wheels shoving their way through the fresh snow and into the slushy, main gravel road that led away from Arena Ferox and the massive camp around it. I shook my head, uttering an exasperated laugh as we rolled away from the quiet, still sleeping camp. The two sentries stationed at the edge of the camp, where the gravel road turned into dirt, snow, and slush, gave us grim nods as we departed. Both probably expected us not to return. A very likely possibility. Anna called it a suicide mission for a reason.

I frowned as my arms ached. My shoulders rolled as I tried to stretch out and loosen the muscles.

"Not used to heavy loads?" Anna asked with a slight grin, her eyes focused on the road in front of us.

I glanced back at the many burlap sacks and crates thrown into the cart. Nearest to me was the wicker cage with Cluckers sitting inside of it. I eyed the damn bird then turned my attention back to Anna.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked.

The corner of Anna's mouth twitched, "Very."

She kicked back on her bench, letting her feet rest up on top of the wooden bar in front of us. The snow became less and less disturbed the further from Arena Ferox we ventured. The sky grew darker as well, despite it being the morning hours. I drew in a deep breath of the frigid air. The cold shot through my nose and lingered in my lungs. If I wasn't awake before, I definitely was now.

"You think your cart can handle this weather?" I asked as I eyed the growing snow banks along the lonely road.

"Don't doubt the cart, and don't doubt Emm."

I blinked, "Emm?"

Anna nodded to the painted horse in front of us. I puckered my lips like I had just swallowed a lemon drop.

"You named your horse-"

"After the late Exalt herself." Anna snorted at that, "It's a bit of a compliment to her. Emm's always been my reliable, hardworking companion. Well, ever since I got her that is. I've cycled through a few horses. Snatched her from the Ylissean royal stables. Frederick was pissed." Anna chuckled some more, "But after everything I had done for the Shepherds, Lissa let me keep her. Of course, I had to get Freddy back somehow for all the rude things he called me."

"Rude things?"

Anna started counting on her fingers, "Trickster, charlatan, swindler," My eyes widened. Only Frederick would have the nerve to call Anna those things, "thief, cheat, oh, and he was on the verge of calling me a bitch too, but his knightly manners took over at that point." She snickered, "That, and Lissa smacked him. Had a good laugh at that." She nodded at Emm again, "So I got back at him by naming my horse after the beloved Exalt." She fell into quiet laughter again, tucking her chin to her chest as her shoulders jumped, "You should've seen the look on his face."

"I'm a little surprised Lissa didn't take offense."

Anna shrugged, her mirth fading a little bit, "She might've… a little bit. But at that point, I had to stick to my decision. Wasn't gonna give Frederick the satisfaction of seeing me back down. I don't back down when I negotiate, and I sure as hell don't back down when I make a decision."

"You backed down yesterday." Anna's lips twitched as a faint snarl crossed her face, "I mean, Lissa-"

"Your foot, Sam." I snapped my mouth shut, and Anna rolled her eyes, "Gods, you're too easy. Who hurt you to make you shut up so easily?"

I grimaced, "Let's um… just drop it, yeah?"

Anna eyed me carefully as the cart rumbled through the thick snow. More flurries descend on us, and a few flakes landed on Anna's red head, staying in her hair a moment before melting away.

"Alright," She nodded with a sigh, "Won't talk about that then."

I let out the breath I did not realize I was holding. There were some things I'd prefer not to talk about. Why I shut up or shut down easily is one of them, and I was grateful Anna dropped the topic.

I refocused my attention to the road in front of us. Well, there should have been a road in front of us, but it was currently buried under several inches of fresh snow. Every so often, one of the wagon wheels would slip and skid, and I would curse. But Anna never lost her composure, and she never lost control. Emm just plodded along, hooves marching through the snow without a care.

Skidding in a horse drawn cart felt different than skidding in a car. When you hit a patch of ice in a car, and the tires lose traction, you sure as shit know it. Oftentimes for me, it was the back tires. One of them would slip on a turn, and I would have to fight to straighten out the vehicle. With a cart, it just felt like one of the wheels suddenly shuddered to a stop, then kept rolling. I guess it just wasn't going fast enough and there wasn't enough ice to really throw us off balance, which was a relief.

I glanced up at the dark sky. Through the thick blanket of dark clouds, I could see a faint, white light. The sun, a faint patch of light that seemed incapable of penetrating the snowstorm raining down on our heads. I never got the impression that Regna Ferox was this dreary when playing the game. Then again, Wisconsin in wintertime wasn't much different. When I was in highschool, I would wake up before the sun rose, and by the time I was done with school, the sun had set. That would be the case from the end of November through about mid-January. It made those few months of school miserable.

_Humans are meant to be in sunlight. _I sighed.

"So," Anna spoked up again as she shifted in her seat, "what were we talking about before this whole," She gestured to the snow covered road in front of us, "crazy mission was thrown on us."

"Hm?" I replied, half paying attention.

Anna shrugged, "Y'know, before Vykrik," I shivered at the mention of that name, but Anna seemed unintimidated by it, "and before Lissa asked me to do this."

"Um…" I thought hard for a moment as my brain ran back to yesterday. The parlay and the subsequent hours afterwards were a whirlwind. But before the day ran afoul, it had been quite nice. Anna woke me early to train, and when we took a break, she asked me about- "We were discussing my home."

"That's it." Anna nodded, remembering as well, "Yeah, books right?"

"Yup."

"And your favorite was some Tolkien guy."

"That's correct." I replied, "He's one of my favorites."

Anna inclined her head, "So there's more than one, eh? Lots of writers in your world?"

"Oh, you've got no idea. Some do it for fun rather than for profit too."

Anna gave me an incredulous look, "Who the hell would do something like that!?"

"Fanfiction writers." I answered without thinking, "But that is a whole other can of worms you're not ready for yet."

"I can handle it."

"Trying to explain the intricacies of the internet to you is something I am not ready for. How about we go with that explanation." I quickly retorted.

Anna snorted and shook her head, "Doing something for free. I don't even get food for the kids for free." She wagged a finger, "My mother had a saying she always told me and my sisters: 'If you're good at something, never do it for free'. It just-" She furrowed her brow, "It's confusing to me why people would bother to invest their time and effort into writing for nothing."

"It's fun." I shrugged.

Anna's eyes widened as she turned to look at me, "Oh…" She nodded, "I see."

"See what?"

"You're one of them."

I sputtered, "I-I-"

She patted my shoulder, "I'm only judging you a little bit. You're not as cut throat as I am, so I can't blame you for it." She took a deep breath, "I'll beat that out of you eventually."

"Beat!?"

"Figure of speech, Sam." Anna sighed as she shook her head ever so slightly at my mild panic, "Have any of those in your world?" She returned her attention to the road as the reins sat loose in her grip, "So Tolkien, what did he write that you liked so much. Something about Fantasy, right? Knights, dragons, stuff like that?"

"Uh, yeah." I wiped my mouth with my head, feeling my hot breath wash over my frozen fingertips, "The story he wrote that I liked the most was _The Hobbit._"

"What was it about?" Anna abruptly asked, catching me off guard. She noticed my surprised expression and snorted, "C'mon, if there is one thing I'm a sucker for, it's a good story."

"How do you know it's any good?"

Anna shrugged, "I dunno. Call it a gamble on my part. But… if you need a reason, you strike me as someone who enjoys good stories too. So if you think they're good, then I'll probably enjoy them as well." She puffed out a blast of air as several snowflakes brushed over her mouth. One of her hands reached up and wiped them away. Finally, she gave me an impatient look, "I need some entertainment on this ride, Sam."

"R-right um… how to explain the Hobbit."

"You're not explaining, Sam." Anna remarked, a small smile on her somehow not chapped lips. How did she manage to do that in this weather without chapstick? "You're telling me a story. Loosen up, have a little fun. Naga knows, if you get anymore uptight around me I'll be able to stick coal up your ass and pull out a diamond." She blinked, "On second thought-"

"So, _The Hobbit_," I began, making Anna laugh under her breath, "It all begins with a hole in the ground."

Anna arched an eyebrow, "A hole?"

"Not just any hole, a Hobbit hole. A nice hole. There's furniture, very finely crafted furniture, a pantry, and a study-"

Anna furrowed her brow, puzzled, "So, a Hobbit is a nice hole?"

I guffawed at that, "No, no." I snickered a little more, "A Hobbit is a… a…" I tapped my left leg with my hand, "A short person with big, hairy feet. Mostly innocent, and naive to the dangers of the world. Content with quiet lives doing boring things."

"Ah, okay. Fantasy creature, got it." Anna nodded, "So, the story is _The Hobbit_, I'm guessing it's about a Hobbit."

"Yup."

"What happens to him?"

"Well…" I searched my memories. It had been a few years since I read the Hobbit. Something I mildly regretted, it was a book that I very much enjoyed, "You see, Bilbo, the Hobbit-"

Anna snorted, "Bilbo? That's his name?"

"That's the point." I replied with a small smile, "Tolkien meant for the names to be ridiculous. It was originally a story for his kids, if I recall correctly."

"Ah, go on." Anna gestured, keeping an eye on the road and one eye on me.

I nodded, "So, Bilbo, is one of those totally normal Hobbits. Never went on any adventures or did anything unexpected. Until one day, a wizard named Gandalf shows up at his door. Being the good, sensible Hobbit he is, Bilbo shooed him away, but only after offering him tea and good mornings and-"

"Ah, he let the wizard get a foot in the door." Anna clicked her tongue, "Never do that."

"Exactly." I nodded, "Gandalf, leaves a mark on his door as Bilbo goes indoors, and that mark is what attracts a party of thirteen dwarves, hellbent on taking back their home, the Lonely Mountain."

"Lonely Mountain?" Anna replied.

"Yeah, because it's-"

"How can a mountain be lonely?" Anna wondered out loud, "I mean… if it was a volcano I can see that, but," She put a finger to her chin, "is it a volcano?"

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we?" I replied, thoroughly enjoying this conversation. It was rare for me to delve into these topics back home. Partly due to my extremely small social circle, and partly because most of the people I was around did not care for these sort of things like I did, "Anyways, their home was taken from them by a Dragon named Smaug."

Anna pursed her lips, "And I'm guessing the dwarves and Gandalf want Bilbo to help them get their home back from the Dragon?"

"Yup." I nodded, "See, the dwarves come from many different backgrounds. Many were warriors at one point. But none of them know how to sneak around. Least of all, how to break into a massive mountain with an evil, fire breathing dragon inside of it. Hobbits are short, and can move quietly. So, Gandalf believes he found his perfect burglar."

Anna let out a little laugh, "This Bilbo, a burglar? A Hobbit who is sensible and never goes on any adventures or does anything unexpected? Now he's going to be a thief?" She thought for a moment, one finger pressed to her chin. Then she closed her eyes and chuckled again, letting her hand fall back to her lap, "I can see why you like that story so much."

"Well yeah, it's a fun little adventure story. Not as epic as Lord of the Rings but-"

"Not just because of that." Anna cut me off. I looked at her, puzzled. Anna rolled her eyes at me, like she always does when I'm completely lost, "Think about it. A small, sensible, naive, boring person winds up in a situation where he has to shed all of that and become a thief? Does that ring a bell?" My eyes slowly widened and Anna gave me a knowing smirk, "Although," She looked down at my boots, "Not sure if you have big or hairy feet. Looking for that is more Gaius's thing."

I gagged a little bit. Anna threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"Why!?" I cried.

Anna's laughter lightened a little bit from loud guffaws into quieter chuckles, until they almost sounded sad, "Gaius and Panne." She glanced at me, "They were… well, not technically married. I think? I'm not really sure how Taguel do it, but Panne and Gaius were together. And let me just say, Panne was very hairy."

"I-I see." I replied, scratching the back of my neck, "Well um…"

Honestly, the comparison struck a chord. In my life story, I was Bilbo, before he went on his own wild adventure. I never had any adventures or did anything unexpected. I lived my life the safe way. I woke up with the help of five different alarms so I was never late for work. I made sure to arrive at the bus station early, so I never had to worry about missing my stop. Looked both ways before crossing the street. Didn't stay out past ten o'clock at night. The most rebellious, crazy thing I think I ever did was have a beer before I turned twenty one. And, let's be honest, if you're a guy who spent any sort of time near a college at that age, you've probably done that. It's nothing spectacular, nothing flashy or exciting. Simply… boring. And I thought I was content with that.

Now, here I am. Riding alongside a trickster merchant, borderline assassin, on our way to rescue a Princess from an apocalypse bringing dragon. The comparison even went as far as me becoming a thief, or burglar, just like Bilbo Baggins.

...Getting hit by a bus does things to a man.

_All that's missing is Martin Short acting as me, and the comparison is complete. _I laughed to myself.

"That's a bit crazy." I finally muttered back.

"Crazy, but not wrong." Anna remarked, "So, I'm impatient, did they get their home back or not?"

"Who got their home back?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "The dwarves? Did Bilbo help them out or not?"

"Oh!" I straightened in my seat, "Well, yeah. It was a happy ending, I guess. A few of the dwarves died, their leader among them. But they defeated Smaug and saved their home. Bilbo returned home, one of the few Hobbits to ever venture so far from the Shire, and very wealthy thanks to the treasure he got from the mountain."

Anna's lips parted into a wide grin, "Oh… I like him now. I'm guessing gold and jewels?"

"Only the finest." I replied, leaning back in my seat till my head rested against the canvass roof of the cart.

"Good, he's a decent burglar at least." Anna replied with a firm nod, "Knows value when he sees it." She my arm with her arm, "Hopefully, you'll turn out the same."

I snorted at that, "Not everyday someone hopes you turn into a good thief."

Anna laughed a little at that, "A lot of the laws went out the window when a dragon came flying in. Thieves tend to become very useful tools for those in power. We know how to sneak into those dark places no one else can get into."

"Which is why Lissa holds yours and Gaius's opinion to such a high degree." I nodded.

"Exactly." Anna breathed. She scanned the horizon, "I hope that sugar addict is alright."

I blinked, "Is that some empathy I hear from you? _The_ Anna, worried about someone else?"

She shoved my shoulder, but there was a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Yeah, yeah," I remarked, as she threatened to shove me off the cart next, "my foot and my mouth. I know."

Anna shook her head as she worked her jaw back and forth. Her shoulder shrugged, "Eh, you're not wrong."

I blinked, "Okay, yeah, are you alright? No fever or something?"

"I'm fine, Sam." Anna replied, mildly amused, "Just… I don't get a lot of conversation on the road like this. Hell, I used to hate it. When I was younger, I was a solo journeywoman. No help needed. I could take care of myself, damn anyone who tried to say otherwise. And..." She paused for a moment. At that moment, I saw a few lines on the corner of her eyes. The corner of her mouth twitched as she recalled years of memories on the road. Having crazy adventures on her own and with the Shepherds. Adventures I only knew about thanks to a game. Even then, I could not even begin to grasp what they really meant to her, "Well…" She sighed, "The world grew more and more dangerous. I latched onto the Shepherds because, well, they were my golden goose for a long time. Do you have any idea how rich I became because of them? Heh, it's because I could talk circles around…" Her face saddened significantly, "around Robin."

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, "Sorry," She breathed, "Just… reminiscing. Got any other stories?"

I was tempted to press the Robin button a little more. But I also got the feeling that if I pushed that button, I would get booted, not just to the back of the cart, but off it. Both figuratively and literally. Anna would not hesitate to plant her boot straight into my backside. Like when I asked her to drop the topic on why I shut up so easily, I dropped this one.

"Other stories, hm?" I pressed my lips into a thin line as I thought hard for a moment, "Well, what kind of story do you want to hear?"

The cart jostled behind us. I figured one of the wheels caught on another patch of ice. Anna furrowed her brow and briefly glanced back at one of the wheels as well. She then looked back at the contents of her cart, brow still furrowed.

"Did anything shift?" I asked.

"Not that I can tell." Anna replied, a suspicious look on her face. She exhaled, breath misting out in front of her face, then returned her attention to the road, "As for what kind of story… let's stick with our unusual parallels theme."

"Unusual parallels theme eh?" I shivered as a biting wind hit the cart. Emm the Horse snorted and bobbed her head, shaking her mane a little bit as the cold wind hit her as well, "Well, we're on our way to save a Princess."

"Yup." Anna nodded.

"So, this might be a good time for the story of Luke Skywalker."

"Oh?" Anna's eyes briefly flicked back to the rear of the cart as her horse snorted loudly in front of us, "Is he a real _hero_?"

"Absolutely!" I said, patting my hand against the wood bench we both sat on, "You see, Luke was but a simple farm boy. A moisture farmer." Anna cocked an eyebrow, puzzled again, "It's uh Science Fiction with a lot of Fantasy thrown in. I'll explain it later."

"Sounds kinda important to know. Context matters." Anna muttered.

"Not for the bones of the story." I replied, my voice growing excited as I was about to discuss one of my all time favorite things to talk about. Yes… I am that much of a nerd, "So, Luke receives a secret message meant for an old Jedi Knight named Obi Wan Kenobi. It is a message from a Princess who has been captured by an evil empire, led by a Dark Lord and his apprentice, Darth Vader. Luke, finds Obi Wan, and they, along with a smuggler named Han Solo, a Wookie named Chewbacca, and two droids, go off to rescue her from the Empire."

"How _heroic_!" Anna declared loudly, "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Uh… yeah?" I gave her a confused look. Anna did not act like this. She was getting really excited about this story, and I hadn't even begun to explain it. Let alone tell it. Why would she-

The cart jostled again. Anna's head whipped back to the rear of the cart.

"Naga damn it." She hissed.

She yanked on the reins, forcing Emm to a stop and nearly throwing me forward off of the cart due to the abruptness of the stop. Once I regained my balance, I glanced at her.

"What's wrong? Risen?"

"No." Anna growled, anger flashing hot over her face, "If it was Risen, we'd be riding faster, not stopping." She grabbed three of her throwing knives and held them between the fingers on her right hand, "How many sacks of potatoes did you throw in the back?"

I shrugged, "I dunno. Six or seven?"

Anna scowled, "I only had three."

I blinked, "W-well I didn't kn-"

Before I could finish, Anna launched her throwing knives into the cart. All three knives burrowed into the wooden deck right beside the sacks of potatoes. To my shock, three of them jumped.

"She's onto us!" One sack cried, sitting upright and flopping out of the cart.

"Time to go!" A second sack exclaimed, simply rolling out and falling into the soft snow behind us.

"Heros do not flee from trials! Least of all the heroes of our great cabal!" A third sack cried, sitting upright.

"You better start running, Owain!" Anna barked, thrusting the reins into my lap and jumping down from the cart. Murder in her eyes.

My mouth opened and closed, "Owai- Owain and-"

_Fuck!_

I surged off of the cart. As I jumped down, my foot got snagged in the reins, causing me to faceplant in the snow instead of landing on my feet. I groaned and spat chunks of fresh powder from my mouth. One of my frozen hands reached up and brushed frosty flakes from my face as I scrambled to my feet.

I rushed to the rear of the cart and found Anna holding Owain, Morgan, and Cynthia at knifepoint. The self proclaimed Justice Cabal members shook with fear as Anna glared furiously at them. The red head paced back and forth, boots crunching menacingly in the snow. Not one of the kids raised their eyes to look up at her. None of them moved an inch. Not that they really could. All three only managed to get their heads free from the burlap sacks before Anna caught them.

Anna put her hands on her hips, spun on her heel, and paced back around from one end of the trio to the other. Morgan took a deep breath and opened her mouth, but Anna quickly raised a hand. Any words Morgan had got stuck in her throat.

Anna stopped her pacing and sucked in a deep breath.

"I am going to try to remain as calm as I can possibly be." She seethed, her face nearly as red as her hair, "But I am warning all three of you, if you say one single word of _backsass,_" She narrowed her eyes at Morgan specifically, "I will take your tongues out with one of my daggers, pickle them, then sell them to Henry for a profit, and he will laugh about it."

Owain and Cynthia audibly gulped. Morgan ducked her head as Anna's gaze landed on her again.

"I know this was your idea." Anna growled, pointing a finger directly at the short, black haired girl, "These two follow your lead when Lucina is not around and-"

"And it was none of their ideas." A second voice interjected from the back of the cart.

Anna's jaw clenched tight as Severa hopped down from the back of the cart. The red head folded her arms and stepped up in front of the three members of the Justice Cabal. Anna's eyes blazed hot.

"Okay," She wagged a finger in the air, "Them," Her hand gestured to the fearful members of the Justice Cabal, "I'm willing to give a small pass to. I expect them to be dumb enough to try this shit. But you," She growled directly at Severa, "After what we talked about. I-" She inhaled deep, trying to rein in her fury, "You didn't even go talk to Lissa or Frederick, did you?"

Severa shrugged, "So what if I didn't. It's not like they would have changed my mind."

"No, but they at least know how to parent." Anna ran a hand over her forehead, "Naga damn it, I can't parent when on a suicide mission. Fuck, I can't parent period." She noticed me standing off to the side, utterly silent, "Sam-"

"My foot is on the ground, not in my mouth." I said quickly.

Anna gave me a weary look, "Back me up here."

I drew back in surprise, "M-me, back-" I blinked, "Well uh-"

"Great, he's just as much an idiot as you four." Anna sighed, exasperated. She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Do you kids have any idea-"

"We know how dangerous this is going to be." Morgan piped up quickly.

"Indeed! The Justice Cabal is fully prepared to delve into the darkest pits of Grima's Hell in order to rescue our great leader from-"

"He means we're ready to step up and save Lucy." Cynthia quickly cut off Owain, "Severa explained-"

"Oh? So Severa knows what this mission entails, does she?" Anna took a few steps forward and glowered at the younger redhead. Owain and Cynthia shrank as her eyes flicked over to them for a brief second, "What did she say exactly, hm? Did she lure you three in with promises of heroism and glory? I bet she failed to mention the blood."

"W-we've been in skirmishes, and Morgan-"

"Yes, only Morgan has been in an actual battle." Anna snapped, silencing Cynthia, "Which makes this fuck up is even more egregious for you, tactician!"

Morgan swallowed hard and ducked her head.

"Quit yelling at her. This isn't her fault." Severa muttered.

Anna's gaze snapped back to Severa, "You failed to mention what Grima does to people, didn't you?"

Cynthia and Owain shifted uncomfortably. Anna flashed her teeth in a threatening snarl. One of her daggers jumped to her hand.

"I've been to a Risen hellhole before, you four. Part of the job. Right around the time of the Siege of Themis." She paced around them four now, like a furious predator circling terrified prey. I could only stand and watch, petrified as a side of Anna I had never seen before came to the surface, "You want to know what I saw there?"

Severa's throat bobbed up and down as Anna stopped her circling and stood directly behind Severa. Her dagger jumped to Severa's throat, making the other red head gasp as ice cold still kissed her neck. Anna leaned close to her ear.

"I saw human beings, men and women… skinned alive. Walking corpses filled with black insects that slowly ate away at what made them recognizable." I saw her throat bob, but that snarl remained, "Thanatophages, that is what Miriel called the sample I brought back to her. Had to bring her an organ riddled with the stuff in order to properly identify it. Care to ask how I got it?"

Cynthia and Owain turned whiter than the snow around us. I swallowed hard as my stomach churned from Anna's story.

"Do you know how to skin a person, Severa?" Anna asked. Severa did her best to keep on a strong mask, but I could see her lower lip quivering as Anna's breath brushed against her ear, "I didn't know either. Not until I saw it for myself. One of Grima's dark mages did it to an old friend of mine. An old, friendly mercenary all of us Shepherds loved. Great drinking buddy. I'm sure you are familiar with him, Severa."

Severa swallowed hard, "Mr. Gregor."

"Mr. Gregor." Anna nodded, lowering the dagger from Severa's throat, "His fate… that could be mine and Sam's fate," My stomach jumped to my throat, "if this mission goes poorly. We could be strung up by our limbs. Tied up with cords, stripped, then skinned. Filled with those Thanatophages until we too become nothing more than walking corpses like the rest of the Risen. Mindless slaves. A fate worse than death."

Anna let the dagger fall away from Severa's throat, allowing the girl to finally take a breath. Now, she turned to the three members of the Justice Cabal.

"The less people on an infiltration mission like this, the less likely someone gets caught. The less likely someone gets caught, the more likely the mission succeeds. Less moving parts, less to worry about." She grit her teeth tight and spun around on Severa, zipping around her until she got into the girl's face, "And you have decided to directly jeopardize all of it!"

For the first time, Severa failed to meet Anna's gaze.

"We could just turn around and take them back." I suggested.

Anna glared over at me, "Yeah, and lose precious time. On top of that, who knows if Grima has spies inside of the camp. If we turn back with them, any spy will know that Sam and I are about to embark on a dangerous mission. I'm an infiltrator, and Grima knows that. Which will make our mission even more dangerous. No, we can't go back now." She shook her head, "Fuck." She hissed under her breath as she spun away from the kids, muttering 'Fuck' past me, all the way back to the front of the cart.

I opened my mouth to say something but, wisely, stayed quiet as she walked by. As Anna jumped back up to her seat, I turned my attention to the kids.

"Really?" I sighed.

Severa scowled back at me, turned around, and climbed back into the cart. Her face much paler now than it was before Anna spoke to her. Cynthia and Owain swallowed hard and kept their heads bowed. They followed Severa into the cart. Morgan stayed on the ground last, her gaze lingering on me a moment.

"If it counts, we… we didn't think this all the way through."

_That's part of the problem._

I grimaced at that thought. That was something usually said to me when I had my usual mental lapses in concentration. I knew that phrase was right on the tip of my tongue, and it took effort for it to not come slipping from my lips.

"Just get in the cart." I finally muttered to the young tactician.

Morgan nodded and climbed up into the cart. I took a deep breath and marched back to the front. Emm snorted and stamped her foot, clearly sensing Anna's fury as the redhead gripped the reins so tight I could hear her leather gloves creaking. I climbed up into my seat beside her.

"Anna-"

She raised a hand, silencing me. Just like with all of the other hard topics, it was best to drop it, for now.

Anna took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as the red rage that washed over her face started to fade. Replaced by a rosy tint to her cheeks as the freezing conditions grew worse. She snapped the reins, and the cart rumbled forward.

We did not speak again for the rest of the day.

**And chapter! I'm not used to writing small chapters like this, so this was an interesting one to write for me, but a very enjoyable chapter. These small character interactions are always fun. On top of that, we've got an interesting development for the suicide mission, with Severa and the Justice Cabal joining in uninvited. That might end badly... we shall see won't we?**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always I hope you all enjoyed! I'll see you all in two weeks! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: ****9XG3U7a**


	15. City of the Dead

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 15

City of the Dead

A small campfire crackled in front of me. What little wood I managed to scrape together from the frozen land around us popped and hissed as orange flames licked at them, turning the previously wet wood into cinders. How did we manage to ignite wet wood in frozen conditions? Magic of course. An old, handy dandy Fire tome Anna had in the back of her cart did the trick. Morgan offered to ignite the fire, but Anna ignored her and sparked it herself. Then, the merchant went off to sleep in her cart, leaving me to watch the four kids around the fire. She did not even bother to eat any dinner, which consisted of some soup still simmering in a cast iron pot over the fire.

I sniffed the air as Severa quietly stirred the pea soup (not the best, but I'll take what I can get in these conditions). My mouth watered as my stomach growled.

_Nearly finished cooking._

I glanced at the other kids around the fire, checking to see how they were all doing. It was mostly a silent journey after Anna and I discovered our four stowaways. Because of the silence, I had a hard time discerning how the kids were feeling, which is not good for me since I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on them. Maybe I'm taking the job too seriously. Anna would probably tell me that, but honestly, I cared about them. They all took me in despite not knowing me and despite my lack of explanation for who I am besides amnesia. So I felt obligated to return the favor somehow, even if it was only checking and making sure they were all okay.

Owain and Cynthia appeared to bounce back from Anna's tongue lashing well enough. They were quieter than normal, but they did not have a look of pure terror in their eyes anymore. They sat shoulder to shoulder, talking in hushed whispers to each other. Probably sharing their ideas on how the mission would go down. Although, judging by their expressions, their conversation did not involve glorious details of rescue and heroism. They appeared scared, and I was too.

Morgan quietly read her spellbook. Her eyes roved over the text as she took in the knowledge with a ravenous hunger. The amount she read would have put me in highschool to shame. It was probably her way of distracting her mind from the dangerous mission ahead of us. Not a bad idea on her part. If I could distract myself with something, I would. The thought of finding the Risen army, infiltrating it, then getting skinned alive made my stomach churn.

_Now I don't feel very hungry._

Severa tapped the wooden spoon against the lip of the pot. Both Owain and Cynthia whipped their gazes over to the fire. Morgan briefly glanced up, then flicked over to the next page in her spellbook.

"Dinner." Severa mumbled as she reached for a bowl and scooped up some soup for herself. Once that was done she sighed, then handed the bowl towards me, "Since, with how accident prone you are, you'd probably get hurt somehow."

I raised an eyebrow, "Uh… thanks, I think?"

"Whatever." Severa muttered as I took the bowl of soup from her.

The other kids moved to serve themselves, with Morgan going last, since she was far more engrossed in her book rather than focused on eating. As I reached for my spoon I paused and glanced back at Anna's silent cart.

_She might be upset, _I thought as I looked down at my bow, _But that doesn't mean she shouldn't eat._

I brushed my way past Owain as he finished ladling soup into his bowl. One cursory glance told me Severa only grabbed enough bowls for those of us around the fire. I frowned and sighed.

_I'll have some in a little bit then._

Snow crunched beneath my feet as I rose and turned to Anna's cart. I could feel Severa's gaze following me as I made my way over to the canvas covered wagon. Cynthia cleared her throat.

"S-Sam, are you sure that you should-"

I waved off her concern and continued towards the cart. A bitter wind slammed into me, and in my own carelessness, I nearly tipped Anna's bowl of soup over as I recoiled from the cold. I muttered a string of curses as I reached the rear of the cart. I snorted to myself as I looked up into it.

_Angled against the wind. _I thought, _Smart._

Inside of the dark cart, I saw Anna leaning up against a crate filled with weapons. A heavy blanket lay over her torso as she kept her legs tucked to her chest. She blinked then glanced over at me. I raised the bowl of soup.

"Hungry?" I asked, a nervous smile on my lips.

She simply stared at me a moment, surprise in her eyes; which of course surprised me because Anna is almost never surprised by anything. She shifted, a small groan coming from the darkness. I saw the shadow of her arm reach for the crate behind her, pulling herself upright.

"Not really." She finally replied, her voice still in the night, "But…" She sighed, "Better eat to keep my strength up."

I grinned back, "So you _are_ hungry."

"I never said that." Anna replied back as I stepped up into the cart, thankful that the tight canvass provided some shelter from Regna Ferox's biting wind.

I took a seat across from her, holding the bowl of pea soup out to her. She snaked one hand out from her heavy blanket and gently took the bowl from me. As she set in her lap, she took a deep breath, uttering a pleased sigh as the steam of the soup reached her nose.

"Yeah, never mind, I'm hungry." She said with a slight laugh.

She scooped up a spoonful of soup then glanced out of the cart over to the small campfire burning a few feet away.

"How are they?" She asked.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, "I doubt you'd appreciate it if I sugarcoated that answer?"

"If I wanted sugarcoat, I'd have made sure Gaius stayed with us." Anna remarked as she spooned another mouthful of soup into her mouth.

I snorted out a small laugh, "Not wrong." I took a deep breath, "They're scared."

"You can tell?"

I shrugged, "I mean… I'm scared. And, I may not have done anything like this before, but you and Gaius have been training me for this for a couple months now. I should be prepared and-" I paused mid thought, "I'm getting ahead of myself. A couple months is not enough time to get good at this shit."

"You're right, it's not." Anna remarked with a small nod, "Training is not enough to get good at this shit. The only way you get good, is surviving the missions, one at a time." She took another bite of soup and nodded, "One at a time…"

I furrowed my brow, my own hunger forgotten. I have never seen Anna like this before. She seemed very… distant, nervous, fearful even. Maybe she was just as scared as I was, but she was better at hiding it. That made sense to me. She was not like this before we found the kids in the back of the cart, hiding inside of potato sacks. Ever since she told that story about Gregor she seemed very withdrawn.

"You alright?" I finally asked, shifting as a cold wind managed to slip through any cracks in the canvass. Winter's cold fingers seeped beneath my cloak and clothes, making me shiver.

Anna sniffed, reached to a crate beside her, then tossed me a heavy blanket.

"Get that on before you catch cold." She muttered as she chewed on a clump of peas, "Can't have you sneezing when trying to infiltrate a Risen horde."

"I didn't ask for a blanket, Anna, I-"

She shivered beneath her own blanket. I noticed a crooked smile across her lips. A dry laugh bubbled up from her lungs and she set her bowl down into her lap. She pursed her lips, staring out towards Emm as the large painted horse snorted at the front of the cart. Her jaw worked back and forth, as if she was seriously thinking about saying something, before she finally bowed her head and uttered a heavy breath.

"Can't be thinking about that right now." She exhaled and glanced up at me, "Alright, Sam, distract me."

I blinked, "D-distract you?"

"Yeah…" She gestured towards me with her right hand as her left picked up her bowl again, "Take me out of this fucking cold. A story, a song, something, anything at all."

I reeled, "Uh… well…" I glanced back at the campfire, then back to Anna, and immediately her welcoming demeanor shifted into a scowl.

"No."

"You didn't even let me-"

"I said no." Anna frowned.

"What better distraction than them?" I declared, "Cynthia and Owain must be the king and queen of distractions!"

"I can think of a lot better distractions than a bunch of idiotic kids." Anna remarked, taking another bite of soup, "Stories, songs-"

"Are best shared with a large group of people." I pointed out, cutting her off. An already dangerous move on my part, but this was a risk I was willing to take, "C'mon," I nodded my head back over to the campfire, "Are you really going to let the bumbling introvert be more sociable?"

Anna continued frowning at me, "I'm tempted."

"Then come on."

"It's cold out there." She quickly argued back.

"And it is cold in here." I spread my arms out, "It's Regna Ferox, even a fire is cold here." That managed to elicit a quiet laugh from her, "But it can be a lot warmer around good people. Dumb as they may be, this coming from an equally dumb person, they make the night a little brighter."

Anna looked at me like I just said the single dumbest thing on the face of the planet, as if to prove my point about me being not the brightest person in our little camp. Her eyes drifted over to the camp, then back to me.

"Fine, but on one condition."

"Name it."

"You quit saying you're dumb."

I drew back in surprise, "But you-"

"Yes, I call you an idiot." Anna admitted, "But that doesn't mean you should say the same about yourself… and that doesn't mean I'm right. I mean, and it kills me to admit this, you did manage to snatch my brooch," She tapped her chest, her fingernail pinging off of the metal pin hidden beneath the blanket, "right off of me while still learning how to be a proper thief. A dumb person could not do that."

"Well, maybe you let me do it."

She leaned towards me, "I would never… _never_, let anyone steal from me. Least of all you and Gaius." She leaned back again, "So you did manage to snatch it from me. Not in the most graceful manner, but you can't even get off of the cart gracefully," I snorted out a laugh at that, "so I shouldn't have too high of expectations there. If you hadn't run into Frederick, you probably would have made it to Gaius with it. So yeah, you're not dumb." She winked at me, "Just a bit clumsy."

"No denial there." I remarked, patting my knees, "C'mon, let's go enjoy the fire."

A reluctant breath slipped from Anna, "Do I have to?"

"No, but the better question do you want to-"

"Absolutely not."

"Fine, then you have to." I replied, making her chuckle under her breath, "Don't leave me alone with those crazy kids."

"Hmmmm," She put a finger to her chin, thinking for a moment before shaking her head, "The things I do nowadays. I swear to Naga I've gotten way too generous lately."

I snorted as I threw the blanket off of me, grabbed an extra bowl from a container nearby, and slid out of the cart, "It's old age softening you up."

"Fuck you." Anna replied with a laugh as she hopped down after me.

As we approached the campfire, I noticed the four kids visibly tense up. Morgan flicked her eyes briefly up from her spellbook. Her eyes widened, she glanced back down, then a frustrated expression crossed her face, indicating she lost her spot on her page. Cynthia and Owain's conversation fell to hushed whispers. Severa refused to even look up at Anna. She simply stared down into her bowl of soup, her fist clenched tight around her spoon.

I sighed and glanced around at everyone as Anna took a seat across the fire, the flames dancing between her and the furious redhead. Cynthia and Owain eyed the merchant nervously. Occasionally, Morgan glanced up, but decided to keep her profile low by burying her nose in her tome.

"So…" I popped my lips, "The weather is…" I frowned, "I was gonna say nice but-"

"Sit down already." Anna sighed.

I flopped down beside her, thankful she managed to stop me from going off into a tangent about the weather and how cold it was outside. Everyone obviously already knew that, and I was just going to be a Captain Obvious by pointing it out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Owain holding the soup ladle out to me. I nodded my thanks and scooped up some soup into my own bowl. I blew on the piping hot liquid before taking a bite, relishing in the warmth that flooded my body as the hot broth ran down my throat.

"I'm not much of a pea soup person." I admitted, "But god damn that's good."

Anna snorted, "It's either peas or potatoes; take your pick."

"Y'know, you can do a lot with potatoes." A wry smirk crossed my lips, "Cook 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in stew… add in a nice piece of fried fish-"

"I feel like you're referencing something and I'm failing to get it." Anna remarked, one eyebrow raised.

I laughed at that, "Later." I waved back.

"Wait!" Cynthia cried, "Sam just referenced something we all don't know!"

"How do you know he was referencing anything?" Severa grumbled, glancing over at the blue haired girl with mild irritation, "Maybe he was just listing off obvious ways to eat potatoes."

"Anna thinks he's referencing something." Morgan shrugged, closing her tome with an audible pop, "And I have a hard time not believing Anna's instincts."

Anna smirked over at the tactician, "Smart girl." She took another bite of her soup, "Definitely your father's daughter."

I noticed Severa bristle a little at that, but I thought nothing of it. She bristled at everything. Me, Anna, Gaius, a bad meal, a draft, a subtle change in temperature- all of it seemed to tick her off. I vaguely recalled her supports in the game with her mother and father, but I never got the impression that she was this much of a pill.

_A lot of context is lost when your in game relationships are limited to three conversations. _I thought to myself.

"So what were you referencing?" Owain asked me, spoon dangling from the corner of his mouth.

His question caught me off guard. At that moment, I realized what Anna just did. I glanced over at her, and I caught the tail end of a mischievous smirk disappearing from her face. It was replaced by a completely innocent look as she glanced down at her soup and took another bite.

"Nothing important." I sighed, hoping that would be good enough.

"So it is a reference!" Severa exclaimed.

"You just thought it wasn't." Cynthia pointed out with a raise of her hand.

"I never said that. I just played devil's advocate." Severa argued back.

Morgan pinched the bridge of her nose, "Oh Naga here we go…"

"Nuh uh." Cynthia said with a shake of her head, "You said-"

"So, Sam." Anna piped up, silencing both of them, "Any memories get jogged up in that skull of yours?"

I glared at her, and she smirked at me.

_Clever girl._

"M-maybe." I finally shrugged, "I'm not sure myself, exactly."

_The hell is she doing? _I thought, _Is this another test? Is she trying to make sure I won't crack under pressure? What's the game here?_

"Hm…" Morgan studied me closely, "I recall talking to Laurent about your amnesia condition once before. He mentioned how many elderly people with memory problems always seem to recall music they enjoyed when they were young."

I frowned, "Do I look old to you?"

"How old are you?" Cynthia asked.

"Twenty two."

Her eyes bugged out of her skull. She leaned close to Owain, "He is old." She whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

Owain covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to stifle his laughter. Anna gave me a knowing look, as if she was relishing the karma that had just come around. I rolled my eyes at her then leaned back on my elbows, ignoring the snow melting into the sleeves of my shirt.

"Still, if we're trying to spark a memory, it's worth a shot." Morgan remarked, "Owain!"

"Certainly!"

I carefully watched Owain as he darted over to Anna's cart. Anna's eyes followed him too, even as he climbed into the back.

"You break it, you buy it!" She shouted over to him.

"Perfectly aware, Lady Anna!" Owain shouted back as the cart jostled from him moving around it. A loud squawk erupted from the cart, "Apologies, good Cluckers. Where is-"

He let out a victorious cry, then emerged with a lute in hand. He rushed back over then plopped down beside Cynthia again. His right thumb plucked each string a couple times as he tested the instrument.

"You know how to play?" Cynthia asked, surprised.

Owain glanced at her, "My mother is the Exalt. Of course I would have lessons in noble practices such as music." He plucked the strings again then grimaced, "Although, I don't recall ever being very good at it."

Severa rolled her eyes, rose to her feet, walked over to Owain, and snatched the lute from his hands. Owain uttered an abrupt cry, but Severa glared at him, silencing the blonde swordsman. She huffed and took a seat on the other side of Cynthia.

"What do we want to hear, hm?" She grumbled, quickly running her fingers over the strings, "Tavern jig? Waltz? Something simple?"

"You know how to play too!?" Cynthia cried, hands clapping against her cheeks.

"I-" Severa's cheeks reddened, "Well," She flicked her eyes at Morgan then returned her attention to Cynthia, "My mother was an expert at the harp. I didn't want to live in her shadow on that instrument, so I picked up the lute."

"I wondered who taught Gaius how to pick those strings." Anna said with a small grin.

"Yeah, well, it was not important." Severa grumbled, "I'm playing something simple. Sam, say something if you can actually remember anything."

_This is bad. _

The first notes hit my ears. They held a certain twang to them. Very… yes, very medieval. I'm perfectly aware how obvious that sounds by the way, but forgive me for the lack of a better comparison.

As Severa plucked along, I nodded my head, then froze. That slight head bob showed that I felt the rhythm, enjoyed the subtle vibrations from the strings, which to them would mean I recognized it. In a way, I did. It sounded like a old country song with a medieval twist. While I will always consider myself a metalhead, my parents loved country music, so that's what I was exposed to growing up. While the song I was thinking of sounded much better with an old guitar and a stand up bass, it still worked with the fun little notes Severa played.

Severa stopped playing, laying her hand flat over the strings.

"Recognized it, didn't ya?" She asked, eyes narrowing at me.

I swallowed hard, "It um… it sounded vaguely familiar. Not quite how I remember it, but something's there."

"Well, can you sing?" Cynthia asked, a wide smile on her face.

"I can." Owain remarked.

"Not interested in hearing that." Severa deadpanned.

"I recall Owain being a fine singer." Anna grinned, "He made me some good gold in front of my shop when he was just a little kid."

"I never got any of it." Owain told me with a shake of his head, "Tis my lot to serve, and tis a lot I welcome without preconditions or-."

"He sure as shit can't sing like Brady can." Severa argued back.

"Oh," Cynthia nodded in agreement, "That's true."

"Brady can sing?" I said, surprised.

"Everyone reacts that way." Morgan answered, "He puts on a good tough guy act, but deep down he's quite the softie." She sniffed as a cold wind whipped by, making the flames in the campfire sputter, "Before you ask, he gets that talent from his father, Sir Donnel."

"Oh, yup." Cynthia agreed. She snickered a little bit, "He definitely doesn't get it from Auntie Maribelle. She sounds like a screeching cat when she sings."

Anna laughed softly, "That she does." She muttered, staring off beyond the fire a little bit.

"We're getting a little sidetracked." Severa cut in. She turned to me again, "Can you sing your song, Sam?"

A blush rushed over my cheeks as embarrassment filled me. I cringed and shook my head.

"Nonsense!" Cynthia cried.

"Indeed! How can we know you are incapable of serenading us if you don't even attempt it?" Owain declared.

"I do not plan on serenading any of you." I replied quickly, my cheeks turning a touch darker, "And I don't sing."

"Well, you're gonna have to now." Severa replied, plucking the strings again, "I want to hear this song you apparently remember."

"And we aren't going to stop bugging you unless you do." Morgan said with the sweetest grin she could muster; but beneath that sweet smile, I knew there was a prankster devil waiting for an opportunity to give me hell.

One last time, I glared at Anna. Again, she put on a totally innocent look, and I had to applaud her clever manipulation of the situation. She knew the kid's curiosity would get the better of them, and she also knew I was not skilled enough to keep the amnesia lie up forever, not without slipping. If I wanted to get out of this somehow, I'd have to give in a little bit.

_You win this time, damned tyrant. _I thought as Anna smirked at me before returning her attention to her soup.

"Well…" I cleared my throat. _Don't fail me now Mr. Cash. _"This is a song about a boy named Sue."

* * *

The cart rumbled along another few days. Each successive day was quieter and quieter, but somehow, despite the cold peace and silence, I felt extremely tense, which was not unusual. I could tell the others in the cart were just as nervous as I was.

Morgan always had her nose buried in her spellbook, Cynthia was much quieter than I knew her to be, Owain did not have the same boisterous confidence regarding the mission that he had when we first set out, and Severa's steely demeanor remained. It was as if all of the kids were beginning to understand the gravity of this mission. The further away we wandered from Arena Ferox and the safety of the military camp around the massive arena, the quieter everyone became.

The biggest change I noticed was in Anna. Usually, Anna would tease me quite a bit. Her teasings usually came during or directly after a lesson of some sorts. But the past two days, as Emm and the cart trudged through the snow, Anna grew eerily silent. Her head was always on a swivel, constantly scanning our snowy surroundings. At night, she would always take first watch, and was always more focused on keeping an eye out for any potential enemies than taking care of herself. More than once I saw her shivering in her cart, and I'd bring her some soup and make sure she actually tried to keep herself warm. She'd grumble about it the entire time, but did I care? Nope. She was my best chance at surviving this insane mission, so she needed to be in tip top shape.

The only time we all weren't very quiet was when we were all around the campfire. Someone would grab the lute, someone would start singing, and often they'd try to get me to sing again. Me, in my shyness, feigned amnesia, stating I couldn't recall any songs at the moment. It surprised me how much that actually seemed to upset Owain and Cynthia. They somehow liked my singing. _A Boy Named Sue _definitely left them doubled over laughing, as it does for most who hear it for the first time. It was a fun story written into a song and-

Anna jabbed my arm with her elbow.

"Head up." She hissed, making my entire body tense.

I furrowed my brow, "Something wrong?"

"We're getting close." Anna whispered to me, eyes darting back and forth along the horizon as the land slowly sloped up into a gentle hill, laden with thick snow.

Our pace slowed as Anna gently pulled on the reins. A knot formed in my stomach as I watched her left hand pat against one of the sheaths that held a dagger.

"Close to what?"

She did not answer me in time. Right as we neared the top of the hill, Anna yanked on the reins, grinding our slow ride to a halt. Several items jostled in the back, and I heard Severa pipe up.

"The hell are we-"

Anna glared back and, without saying a word, silenced Severa. There was a sharpness to Anna's eyes that made the knot in my stomach twist harshly. The only other time I had ever seen that look was when me, her, and Gaius approached the Longfort for the first time.

"Trouble?" I asked.

She patted my shoulder and motioned for me to follow her as she hopped off of the cart. My feet softly fell in the snow as I tiptoed my way forward behind the merchant. As we got near the top, Anna dropped to a crawl, carefully pushing her way up through the snow until we reached the top. I lay on my stomach beside her, and my eyes widened at what I saw.

Smoke billowed up in thick, black plumes from a charred city along a frozen coast. Parts of the walls surrounding the city were blackened by long quenched fires. Other parts no longer existed; blasted into nothing but rubble that sat in haphazard piles all around. I swallowed hard as I stared harder at one pile, and realized it was not blackened stone.

Bile crept up my throat and I ducked my gaze. My nose brushed against the snow as I tried to keep myself from retching.

"Yeah," Anna nodded with a grimace, "they're here."

"What is-" I swallowed hard, "was this place?"

"At one time this was Port Ferox, largest port in the area. Always a pleasant place for trade, if you knew how to handle yourself. Feroxi merchants and sea captains loved fighting and drinking, almost as much as they loved making gold." A small smile crossed her lips, "Good times, but…" Her smile quickly ran away, "now it's gone." A shuddering breath left her lips, "I had a hunch they were moving this way, but I didn't think they would have already razed this place."

"A hunch?"

She rolled on her side, "Think about it. You and I rode all the way to Arena Ferox and, other than the Longfort, not one Risen between us and the Arena. The Risen were not going northeast from the Longfort then, which meant they were going either south back into Plegia, or west to Port Ferox." Her fingers tapped the snow, packing it down further beneath her palms, "But why?" She asked, brow furrowed, "What is that lizard doing?"

I shrugged, "Beats me."

"Yeah," Anna nodded, "me too. That makes me nervous." She glanced at me as she shimmied down the hill so that she was no longer looking over the hilltop. I followed her down, "I'm going in there. You are staying here with the kids."

My eyes widened. Part of me was relieved, since I wouldn't be entering a city crawling with the dead, but another part of me wanted to protest Anna's decision. Going into a place like Port Ferox, with the Risen swarming through it, all alone, was insane.

Anna smirked at me, as if she already knew what I was thinking.

"This whole mission is insane, Sam. If we're gonna have a suicide mission, might as well go all in."

My mouth opened and closed as she made her way back down the hill to the cart. I quickly followed.

"I'm pretty sure we need to be a lot more careful rather than reckless."

"Careful, in this line of work, gets you killed." Anna said, voice terse as she did not even bother to glance back at me. She strode up to Emm, rubbed the horse's muzzle, then made her way to the back of the cart so that she could speak to the kids, "You need to be confident in your decisions and actions, Sam. There's no time to second guess yourself, especially on a mission like this."

Of course, she's saying this to someone who is very good at second guessing himself and not being very confident in his own decisions. Not the first time I've heard that bit of advice, and I doubted it would be the last. I shook my head as I followed her to the rear of the cart.

_Just what the hell have I gotten myself into? _I wondered, _How did I think being a scout was my best chance at survival in this world?_

The kids all leaned out of the cart as Anna cleared her throat.

"Alright, you are staying here."

"What!?" They all cried at once.

Anna glared at all of them, and they all quickly realized their mistake. We were too close to enemy lines to be loud, and that one shout could put us all in immediate danger. Cynthia ducked her head from Anna's glare while Severa met it.

"You can't just leave up behind." Severa argued, "We're here to rescue Lucina too."

"If you want to help, stay here. Don't draw attention to yourselves, and don't do anything stupid." Anna replied. She reached past Owain and snatched a white cloak from the cart. She removed her usually reddish brown cloak and tossed it into the cart before tying the white one over her shoulders. With a sigh, she threw the hood up over her head, "While I'm gone, Sam's in charge."

"I'm what?" I squeaked, the knot in my gut twisting so hard it would make a screw look loose.

Anna gave me a withering look, "You're in charge, Sam." She reiterated as she patted various sheaths along her torso, where she kept throwing knives and daggers, "If I'm not back by nightfall, I want all of you to race back to Arena Ferox and inform Tiki, Lissa, and Frederick about the situation."

"You'll need more time than that!" Morgan exclaimed, "I mean, you have to find where Lucina is being held, and before that you need to infiltrate the city without getting caught, then-"

"I'm aware, Morgan." Anna hissed, "But I'm not going into this very optimistic. Grima…" She saw the looks on all of the kids' faces fall, causing Anna to go silent, "Just don't do anything stupid, stay out of sight, and get the fuck out of here if I'm not back by the time it is dark, understood?"

Cynthia swallowed hard and nodded, Owain nodded as well, Morgan did not say or do anything, and Severa folded her arms and kept that same grouchy expression on her face. I nodded when Anna turned to look at me.

"Good." Anna breathed, "Sam, one more time up the hill."

I followed her back to the top of the hill. She took a deep breath as he lay on the top, eyes focused on the smoldering ruins.

"What's your plan?" I asked.

"The plan, other than not getting caught," Anna muttered before pointing at the various blasted out sections of the wall, "I'm going to slip through one of those gaps. Good thing about Risen: they're not very bright. Good grunts, not good guards. I'm more worried about any dark mages that are prowling around."

I blinked in surprise, "Grima has actual people in his army."

"Some people love suffering that much. None more so than Grimleal mages." Anna said with a strong scowl. She carefully studied the charred city further, "After I get into the city, I'm going to carefully make my way there," She pointed to a small fortress along coastline, near the city's ruined harbor, "That's the Keep. Important prisoners, if any, are going to be there."

"How do you know that?"

Anna shrugged, "I don't. I don't know how Grima thinks. None of us do; that's why we're losing, and why I can't understand why he isn't moving on the main army already?" She shook her head, "Whatever, that's not why we're here. Primary objective, find Lucina-"

"And hopefully Gaius."

Anna saddened significantly, "Unless we just missed him along the way, I wouldn't get my hopes up on that one, Sam. This is… way more difficult than normal. Even Gaius would have trouble getting into this city right now."

"Then why are you going alone?"

"Because you-" Anna bit back a scathing remark on my abilities. I knew where she was going with it, and she was not wrong. I knew I was not ready for something like this, so it did not hurt to hear that. It was more surprising to me actually. I did not think Anna cared that much, "Look, Sam. It'll be easier to get in for one person, not two moving together. Okay?"

I nodded, "Understood."

She inhaled, then exhaled, her breath misted out in front of her face, "Keep those kids on a short leash. The last thing I want is for one of them to-" She bit her tongue, "Don't let one of them get hurt, Sam."

"I won't."

She patted my back, "Good. Now get back down the hill. No fires, keep the noise down, if any patrols come by then kick ass if needed." That last part made me chuckle, "I'll hopefully see you tonight."

Without another word, Anna crawled over the crest of the hill then carefully made her away across the sparse, icy no man's land between the hill and the ruins of Port Ferox. She did not run, or walk, she crawled, and eventually, thanks to the white cloak she wore, I lost sight of her.

I looked away from the city, up at the horizon. The sun was already starting to set. I could faintly see the outline through the thick, dark grey canopy that always hung over our heads in this frozen wasteland. Anna would only have a few hours before she expected me to take the cart and kids back to Arena Ferox. If Gaius would have a hard time getting into this City of the Dead, I wondered how Anna would manage to sneak in and find Lucina with time to spare.

I shook my head. If there is one thing I knew not to do, it was doubt Anna. I took a deep breath and made my way back down the hill to the cart, ready to take up my watch against any sort of enemies or shenanigans from the kids. As I made my way back to the cart, the knot in my gut tightened further. A bad feeling lingered with the stomach pain. Call it anxiety or paranoia, but I can honestly say that I had a very bad feeling about this mission.

My anxiety was quickly forgotten when I neared the cart and heard Severa and Cynthia bickering in hushed tones. Now the knot in my gut was replaced by a headache pulsing through my forehead. I huffed as I stepped up into the driver's seat of the cart and leaned back, one hand rubbing my forehead.

_When this is done, I'm going to need a drink._

* * *

I huddled close to the cart, using it to shelter my body from the biting wind rushing into Regna Ferox from the coast. My black cloak was wrapped tight around my body, and the hood was drawn low over my head. I could barely feel my nose, and my cheeks felt numb, as I grit my teeth and cursed under my breath with each blast of frozen wind.

_I can't feel my toes. _I thought as I tucked my knees closer to my chest. Ice covered my boots, making them slip along the frozen ground like skates. I hissed, reached for a dagger strapped to my hip, and used it to carefully chip the ice away, _I thought coasts were supposed to be nice, pretty places._

I glanced to my right. The kids all huddled together along the rest of the cart, using their collective body heat to keep each other warm. Morgan and Cynthia were sitting in between both Owain and Severa. Three of them snatched coats from Anna's cart and wrapped them tight around their bodies, which helped them fend off the cold far better than my cloak could. Why didn't I grab a coat? Because Anna never wants anyone touching the merchandise. I knew that rule, but the kids probably did not, which meant they would be given leniency that I would not.

I huffed, my breath coming out of my mouth in a quick blast of fog. My hands trembled as I vigorously rubbed my arms, trying to keep them from freezing. I untucked my chin and glanced up at the sky.

It turned dark an hour or so ago, and still no sign of Anna. My concern grew with each passing moment. Eventually, if she did not return, I would have to gather up everyone and race back to Arena Ferox with what little information I had about the enemy. Those were my orders, and I really did not like them. The last thing I wanted to do was abandon Anna. Maybe she just needed more time? I felt certain that as soon as I started rumbling away, Anna would emerge from the city, only to find us gone. We will have abandoned her, and she would die as a result. That was a result I could not bear, but would have to accept soon.

_Come on, Anna. _I turned my head and looked past the cart towards the hillside we were against, _Where are you?  
_The sound of snow shifting beside me drew my attention away from the hilltop and over to Morgan as she huddled close to me. The wind howled around the cart, and with the new burst of air came puffs of snow, signaling the start of a vicious storm.

"What do we do now?" Morgan asked over the howling wind.

She was the only one that did not grab a coat from the back of the cart. Prefering to utilize the purple, black, and gold coat she always wore instead. Frost crusted over the tips of her black hair, even though she kept the coat's hood pulled tight over her head.

I shook my head, "I don't know. Anna told me to go back with you four if she did not return by nightfall."

"She what!?" Severa exclaimed, her cheeks red and probably frozen solid.

"Nay! We shall never abandon Lady Anna!" Owain declared with much gusto.

"We can't just leave her, Sam!" Cynthia cried, tears welling up in her eyes, then quickly freezing as they streamed down her cheeks.

All of them stared directly at me, and my level of discomfort exploded. They were all turning to me, waiting for me to make a decision. Leave, or stay? Wait a little longer for Anna, or potentially leave her to die? Anna ordered me to leave if it got to this point, but… but…

_This is a bad idea. _I took a deep breath and recalled what Anna told me. I needed to have confidence in my decisions, and to not do anything carefully while on a mission like this. I pursed my lips, kicking myself for what I was about to do.

"Alright, I'm trained for this. So I'm going down there next."

"You can't do it alone!" Cynthia correctly pointed out.

I grit my teeth, both due to anxiety, and the freezing wind and snow, "Not wrong, but-"

"No way in hell you are." Severa suddenly interrupted, "I'm going with."

"But you aren't very stealthy Sev-"

"Say another word Owain and I'll silence you myself." The red head snarled at the blonde, "I know how to handle Risen, you don't, Sam. You can sneak us in, and I'll take care of anything that tries to get in our way." She nodded at Morgan, Cynthia, and Owain, "They'll stay behind and guard our way out of this place."

"We want to go too!" Cynthia cried. Morgan remained quiet as she turned to look at the hill behind us.

"You're not ready for something like this." Severa said back, her voice not as sharp as it was before.

"But-"

"She's right, Cynthia." Morgan sighed. She nodded at me and Severa, "We'll guard the cart. But… if you don't come back-"

"By sunrise, get out of here and get back to Arena Ferox." I said, doing my best to make my voice sound firm and commanding, though I doubt it worked given the look on Severa's face.

I took a deep breath and got to my feet, hands patting where I had weapons. My right hand patted the hatchet on my right hip. My left hand brushed against the long dagger strapped to my other hip, and the short one strapped to my lower back. Once I was certain all three were there, I reached into Anna's cart and retrieved an extra dagger. I wedged it between my waist and my belt. An extra weapon in case I lost one of the other ones.

I turned to face the hill, then glanced back at the kids. Severa drew up alongside me, a black cloak over her shoulders now as well. Her right hand rested on the pommel of her sword as she waited for me to lead the way.

_Training, don't fail me now. _I thought as I visualized the walls, the city, and most importantly, the location of Port Ferox's keep.

I took one more deep breath. This was it. All of my training led to this moment. Every bruise, bump, broken bone, and bruised ego all culminated in this decision to rescue a Princess I did not know, and a pair of friends I could not bear to lose. With that final thought in mine, I quashed whatever fear I had in me, let it sit in my stomach instead of my mind, then turned to Severa.

"Let's go get them."

**And chapter! Here we go! Time for the suicide mission to really get going! Sam's disobeying Anna, so we'll see how that goes. I'm very excited to kick these next few chapters off! It's going to be one wild ride!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

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	16. Murphy is Always Right

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 16

Murphy is Always Right

Is it bad that, in this moment; as I tiptoed closer and closer to a city that brimmed with legions of undead monsters hellbent on adding my scrawny corpse to their ranks; I was not focused on watching out for those monsters? Instead, I was hyper focused on the churning in my gut, the hammering beat of my heart, and the enormous urge to take a piss. That last part was probably due to fear. Once adrenaline actually kicked in, that would be remedied… somehow. Really only two ways for that to be fixed, neither very pleasant.

Yeah, it's probably a bad thing that I, as I pressed my back up against a blasted out section of Port Ferox's outer walls, was more focused on the building pressure in my bladder rather than my actual job. I mean, it's not exactly a new trend. My old job involved mostly walking and occasionally knocking on a door hoping for an answer so I could give a bad sales pitch. I got pretty good at focusing on other stuff during that time, and I also got very good at knowing when I needed to go.

Which I very nearly did when I felt a rough hand shove my shoulder, causing me to almost yelp. I slapped a hand over my mouth before I could, and Severa rolled her eyes at me.

"You're off in your head, aren't you?" She said with a scowl, "Gawds, it's as if you want us to die."

"Oh like I would want that." I hissed back, refocusing my attention on the mission in front of me.

My mouth felt dry as I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. It didn't work, my heart continued to pound faster in my chest, my breathing grew quicker, and now I wondered if I was going to start feeling a warm sensation running down my leg at some point.

_And I don't have an extra set of pants with me. _I shook my head and tapped my right temple with a finger, _Focus Sam! Are there any Risen around?  
_My eyes scanned the darkness in the ruined city just past the wall me and Severa stood next to. So far, I saw nothing. No movement. The only sounds I heard were Severa's breathing, my own breathing, and the low moan of cold wind blowing through the empty city streets. Smoke billowed up into the starless night sky, but I could not see any flames. Probably a good thing. Less light for any Risen to see me.

_Unless they can see in the dark? _I swallowed hard as my hand tightened against the edge of the crumbling wall, _Can they do that? Their eyes do glow and all.  
_Again I shook my head to refocus myself. Severa tapped me on the shoulder.

"Need me to take the lead, _scout_?" She asked, a hint of a taunt in her voice.

I frowned back at her, "N-no just… working up the nerve."

_No better time than now I guess._

With a deep breath, I took one step forward, only for Severa to yank me back behind the wall by the hood of my cloak. A choking sound rushed from my lungs, which was quickly silenced by Severa slapping her gloved hand over my mouth and pinning me up against the wall, melding both of us into the shadows.

My eyes went wide as I noticed a patrol of Risen grunts, carrying axes and swords, lumbering along the blasted section of wall. Their rusted armor clanked in the silent night. The stench of rotten flesh hit my nose, and my eyes watered. Severa put a finger to her lips, and I nodded. She lowered her hand from my mouth and we both watched with bated breath as the patrol continued along the wall. Eventually, they finally passed us, giving us one brief opening to sneak into the city.

We rushed into the city together, praying that our footfalls would be muffled by the light blanket of blackened snow on the cobblestone roads within the city. Severa broke out in front of me, her superior athleticism easily apparent as she rushed towards a burnt out building and pressed her back against it, making sure to be hidden from the previous patrol we saw. A couple seconds later, I slammed into the wooden wall, wincing as some pain lanced through my shoulder.

"A little excited?" She asked, brow furrowed as she glanced back to the wall, making sure the patrol had not doubled back at all.

"Give me a break." I grunted, "I may be trained to do this, but this is still a first for me."

"Yeah?" Severa shrugged, "Well… me too."

I gulped, "We're fucked, aren't we?"

I actually managed to get a dry laugh from Severa with that one, "At this rate, if we make it to the Keep, I'll be pretty surprised." She turned away from the road we crossed and faced me, "You and Anna are sure Lucina would be in the Keep?"

I shrugged, "That's what Anna said. If she thought that, then I'm pretty sure Gaius thought the same."

"If he even made it that far." Severa muttered. Her left hand gripped her sword, fingers tapping the leather bound grip, "I guess that's where we need to go then. Remember though, Lucina comes first."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Severa raised a hand, silencing me.

"That was yours and Anna's mission in the first place, right? Rescue Lucina, that's the main objective. She's… well no offense to both of you, but she's more important. Besides, if Anna was in your position, what do you think she'd do?"

That was a hard question to answer, and one that caused some mixed feelings inside of me. I was completely unsure of what Anna would do. On one hand, I did feel like a bond had formed between us. I'm not entirely sure if I would call it a student and teacher bond, since Anna rarely conducted actual lessons and usually just gave me information at random whenever she felt like it (the one exception being combat, where she tended to just beat the shit out of me rather than give me any sort of technical lessons). All in all, our relationship did seem strange, but I liked to think there was a friendship there.

So was it bad that I had a feeling Anna would focus on Lucina and leave me behind if she was in my shoes? I mean, it made sense. Who was I in the grand scheme of things? A grunt, a scout, the disposable soldier meant to do the dangerous jobs because he couldn't lift a sword when training with Frederick.

_That's depressing. _I thought, frowning to myself, _This place is giving me some bad thoughts._

Severa read the frown on my face, listened to my silence, and nodded.

"Exactly. Anna would do the same thing we're going to do. Now, get us to that Keep in one piece, Sam. Once inside… well… we'll figure it out from there."

I swallowed hard, and nodded. Thank God Severa was here to snap me into focus, otherwise my mind would absolutely wander. That's a bad habit I have. Whenever I get into high pressure situations, I tend to zone out. Call it a coping mechanism, call it a weak spine, call it being a space cadet, it was not helping me in this situation. Severa had the right amount of snarl and impatience to scare me back into focus. While not entirely pleasant, it worked in this situation.

Besides, I could not afford to fail now. For one, that would mean I'd be dead. Not an enticing option. Two: Anna, Lucina, and Gaius would definitely be dead then, since me and Severa were the only rescue party they were going to get. Finally, Severa would likely end up dead, and at that point… what would have been the point of all of this? It would be a catastrophic failure the likes of which would make my fears of getting bad grades in high school look miniscule by comparison.

_Time to buckle down, Sam. _I took a deep breath, smelling the heavy scent of burning wood, smoldering flames, and worst of all, decaying bodies. It took another deep breath to force the bile back down my throat as I got used to the sudden stench. With a final nod, I motioned for Severa to follow.

All of the blood, sweat, and literal tears led to this. The training wheels were off now, for lack of a better analogy. It was time for me to step up and save the day.

_I need to save the day…_ I thought, blinking to myself as Severa followed me through the shadows, back alleys, and smoke filled streets of Port Ferox, _What the hell happened for everyone to think that was our best option!?_

As we snuck our way through the various streets and allies, I began to notice something peculiar. For a city supposedly housing the entirety of Grima's forces, it was very empty. There were several patrols Severa and I had to get by, but the patrols usually consisted of a handful of grunts that hardly paid attention to the shadows all around them, making it easy for us to sneak past them. If an entire army resided in this city, shouldn't there be… oh I don't know, evidence? Signs that an army exists here? Mass groups of Risen, maybe? Perhaps a dark mage or two? Instead, Severa and I found only silence, rubble, husks of buildings laid to waste by fire, and-

We turned a corner, and I nearly threw up everything in my stomach. We reached the town square that rested just before the Keep. Lying in the center of the sqaure, in a grotesque pile that stretched up into a tall pyramid, were bodies. Hundreds, and hundreds of bodies. Flies buzzed around the rotting corpses, dried blood caked dead flesh, and vacant eyes stared at me as Severa came to halt beside me.

"Naga above." She hissed, covering her mouth with her gloved hand.

Before I could say anything else, I heard noises coming from the street to our right. Consequences be damned in this instance. I yanked Severa by the back of her shit and pulled her into a ruined storefront. I dropped to a crouch, ducking beneath the shattered front window. Severa followed suit, but scowled at me the entire time.

Voices grew louder outside. I furrowed my brow and looked at Severa.

"Can Risen talk?" I whispered.

Severa shook her head, "Not that I'm aware of."

The voices grew louder, but I could not make out what they were saying. It was probably due to the adrenaline rushing through my veins, making blood pump through my ears at a rate that drowned out most small noises. I did venture a small peak over the low wall we hid behind. My stomach rolled at the sight of the bodies again. The rolling turned into a full blown flip as I saw the body of a small Feroxi child with a slit throat lying beneath a tangled mess of bloody limbs near the bottom of the pyramid.

I squeezed my eyes shut as my head swam, the image burning into my mind. For a second, I felt lightheaded. Then I felt myself tip over. Instincts took over, and my eyes shot open. I reached out, caught my falling body with my hand, and felt broken shards of glass dig into my open palm. I hissed, and Severa tensed beside me.

Instead of yelling, or screaming in pain, I bit my tongue hard. In books I read as a kid, the heroes always did that when they were in pain but could not afford to make noise. In reality, that hurts a fuck ton, and makes you more likely to scream some more. Thankfully, Severa acted, tore her glove off of her right hand, and shoved it into my bloody mouth as I opened it to howl.

My eyes conveyed my thanks to her, however teary eyed it might be. The grouchy redhead just rolled her eyes at me.

"You're a dumbass."

The sharp pain from biting my tongue began to subside, and it turned to a dull throb. I spat her glove from my mouth, felt hot blood pooling in my mouth, and spat it out as well.

"Heard it before." I said with grimace as my mind registered the glass digging into my palm. I hissed as I braced myself and attempted to dig the shards from my palm. I managed to get the large pieces out, but the smaller bits sank further into my hand. Unless Severa had a pair of tweezers hidden somewhere, they were not coming out anytime soon, "Are they gone?"

Severa glanced over the wall for a split second, then quickly ducked, eyes wide.

"All but one…" She glared at me, fear in her eyes, "I think he heard you."

I swallowed hard. An apology started to form on my lips, but I quickly shut myself up as light footsteps approached our hiding spot. I froze, Severa slowly reached for her sword. The metal quietly scrapped against her boiled, leather scabbard as she carefully started to draw the weapon from its sheath. She gave me a quiet nod, and I scrambled to grab the small dagger against my hip.

Before I could draw it, the enemy soldier leapt over the wall, dropped to crouch, and glared at us from behind a heavy headdress that disguised most of his face. His eyes widened when he saw us, then widened further as Severa yanked her blade from its sheath.

"Whoa, whoa!" The enemy said, reaching up with a gloved hand to the mess of cloth covering his head and face. He pulled some away, and I nearly cried.

"Gaius?" Severa asked, mouth agape.

"Holy shit." I breathed.

"Yeah, it's me." Gaius hissed, keeping his voice down. There was no carefree tone or demeanor to him now. There wasn't even a lollipop wedged between his lips, "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"What are you… what are you doing alive!?" Severa hissed back, "Why did you-"

"Getting to Lucy is a little more difficult than I thought." Gaius shot back, "And that's not the focus at the moment." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "What in the actual fuck are you two doing here? Where's Red? I thought she'd be keeping an eye on you, Lucky."

I swallowed hard, "W-well she was, but then Lissa gave her orders, I tagged along, then Severa, Owain, Cynthia, and Morgan stowed away and-"

"Oh fuck me sideways with the fattest lollipop in the world!" Gaius exclaimed. He ran a hand over his face, a long groan rushing from his mouth, "Lissa couldn't give me more time, Naga damn it." He shook his head, jaw working back and forth as he processed what I told him, "Where's everyone else?"

"Outside the city." I answered.

"With Red?" Gaius asked.

I winced, "Well, no, they-"

"Who is in charge then?" Gaius asked, gripping me by the shoulders, "Please for the love of Naga, tell me you did not… oh by the gods you two did."

Severa blinked, gasped, then muttered a curse under her breath. She bowed her head, shaking it as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We're morons, Sam." She muttered.

"We are?" I sputtered back, "I mean- I knew I was, but you and Gaius-"

"Not Gaius. Us specifically." Severa sighed.

"You two left those crazy kids, the Justice Cabal, alone." Gaius clarified.

My eyes widened, "O-oh… I uh…" _I really did not consider that, did I? _"Justice Cabal?" I lied.

Gaius sighed, "Right you wouldn't know." He huffed then glared at Severa, "You though-"

"I'm trying to save Lucina." Severa quickly interrupted.

"So are the adults, Severa! And you are clearly not one of them since you obviously did not think this through!"

"Like you think anything through." Severa argued back, folding her arms over her chest.

"Believe it or not, I do. That's why I haven't gotten to Lucina yet." He clicked his tongue, "They got the princess locked up tighter than a beggar's lone coin."

I furrowed my brow, "Isn't the expression supposed to be-"

"Ever tried to rob a beggar, Lucky?" Gaius asked me. I shook my head, "Didn't think so. Just know it's a huge pain in the ass, like you two are being right now." He exhaled, then sharply inhaled, "Wait a moment. If Red isn't with the kids, and she isn't with you-"

"She infiltrated a few hours ago, but we haven't heard anything." I explained.

Gaius stared incredulously at me, "And… what possessed you to go in after her?"

I ducked my head. I never knew Gaius to be an angry person. Hell, I was convinced the guy didn't have a temper at all. With how often I messed up in training, and how laid back he was, I just assumed him to be the most patient person I've met so far in this crazy world. I did not think it was possible to make him angry, but right now, he was pretty red in the face. A nice cherry shade that would match his preferred flavor of lollipop. If he actually had one in his mouth.

Still, the fact that I pushed him to the point of getting angry with me left me feeling both shocked and ashamed at once. I bowed my head, unable to meet his furious gaze.

"I-" I choked a moment, "I don't know. Anna's my friend and-"

"And, hate to break this to ya Lucky, but she would leave ya to die in order to alert Lissa and the others about what is going on here." Gaius hissed, making me recoil, "You know that too, Severa, and yet you still-" He uttered a heavy breath, shoulders sagging as he shook his head, "I can't believe you two. Neither of you are ready for something like this." He pursed his lips, glancing over our hiding spot again to a now empty town square, "You two can't go back now. You'll get caught." He cleared his throat, "Stick close to me." I raised my eyes, shocked that he was even letting us tag along, "Step where I step. Move as I move. Am I clear?"

Severa and I nodded.

"Good." Gaius breathed, "Follow me then. This is not the best hiding spot."

"It's worked so far." I muttered as Gaius crept out from the ruined shop, and we followed.

"I didn't say it was bad, Lucky." Gaius whispered back as we crept across the courtyard and moved closer to the keep, "Just not the best."

"Like you could've done better given the circumstances." Severa grumbled.

"Eh, not wrong, maybe." Gaius admitted, "Good job, Lucky."

Severa gaped at him, "Why not good job, Severa?"

"Because I guarantee you were about to try and fight those dark mages I was following instead of hiding."

I sucked in a sharp breath as we reached what appeared to be an old stable just outside of the Keep's large, stone walls. Gaius ducked into one of the stalls, where old, rancid, muddy straw rested all over the floor.

"D-dark mages?" I stammered, fear filling every ounce of my being. In my entire time spent in this world, I have only encountered ONE dark mage… and he nearly killed me because he thought I was attempting to court his daughter, despite the fact that he knew I was an ally. I could only imagine how terrifying a dark mage sworn to serve Grima would be.

"Yeah, so again, good job." He patted my shoulder, "You've at least got good instincts." Gaius took a breath, "Alright, you said Red infiltrated earlier?"

I nodded, "She did."

"Did you see her enter the city?"

I nodded again.

"Was it light out?"

I furrowed my brow, "Uh… yeah. Like I said, it was a few hours ago."

Gaius shook his head, "Red's taking some big risks then." He pressed his lips into a thin line, "If she got in, then I should've noticed her by now. Red's good, but she's not as good as me."

"Did something happen to her?"

A pit formed in my stomach when Severa asked that question. A question I really did not want an answer to. After seeing the pyramid of dead bodies in the town square, I did not want to begin to imagine the terrible things Grima and his minions would do to someone like Anna. That is, if they didn't just kill her outright.

"I don't know." Gaius grunted, "I got in with those dark mages. Pretended to be a bandit wanting to save his own skin by siding with Grima. Tends to work pretty well with the dumber ones. They would've mentioned something if they caught one of our scouts and killed them." He rubbed his chin, "Which means Red's either still working her way here…" He paled, "Or she's stuck with Lucina."

"Why would Grima capture Anna too?" Severa asked.

Gaius was quiet a moment, "I don't know." He finally answered, "But… something is not adding up here." He glanced at me, "You two got in here way too easily. Especially if that ol' lizard managed to catch, Red."

I nodded in agreement, "For a city occupied by the walking dead, there aren't exactly a lot of them walking around."

"Yeah, it's odd." Gaius hummed to himself, "But… we don't have time to try and figure that out. C'mon, we need to get into the Keep."

"How?" Severa asked.

Gaius smirked at her, raised a foot, and stomped hard on the ground. Instead of his foot clacking quietly against stone, it thumped against wood. A hollow echo followed the thump.

"Gotta love paranoid rulers, eh?" He chuckled, brushing straw to the side and revealing a trap door hidden in the stable stall, "I doubt a Khan put this here, but this town is old. Probably been here a lot longer than most Khans can remember. Been down it a couple times now. Lots of dust and cobwebs." The trapdoor quietly groaned as he pulled it open, the rusty hinges barely holding together as they were forced to move once again, "Safe to say, no one has been down there in a long ass time."

"Is this how you found out Grima does have Lucina prisoner?" I asked.

The thief nodded, "Heard some dark mages talking about it earlier. Tried to figure out where she was at that point but-" He stopped. The gate to the Keep was groaning open, "Both of you go down, now!"

I motioned for Severa to go down first. There was no snide remark regarding manners or chivalry. She appeared just as anxious to get down into the tunnel as I was. I quickly followed, my feet struggling to find a foothold on the slick, mostly rotten ladder. Gaius ducked beneath the trap door last, quietly pulling it shut.

As fast as I could, I scampered down the ladder, nearly slipping several times as my small hands lost their grip on the slick wooden rungs more than once. When I finally reached the bottom, my feet splashed into ankle deep snow runoff. Or… what I hoped was snow run off. Judging by how cold it felt, it was the most likely liquid running through this tunnel. However, the carnage on the surface made me think the worst.

Gaius splashed down right behind me. He patted my shoulder with his hand, an easy going smirk once again on his lips.

"What's with the long face?" He asked.

I gaped at him as he brushed by me, scooting sideways along the round walls surrounding us until he got in front of me and Severa.

"Did you not see what was up there? And where are we now?" I asked, my voice hushed despite the perceived safety we had down here. At least, I assumed we were safe. Gaius appeared pretty relaxed. Then again, maybe he had a few screws loose?

Gaius's easy smirk quivered a little. He glanced over his shoulder at me and a silent Severa.

"Not gonna lie to either of you, when I got here it was… it was bad." He gulped and kicked at the water around our ankles, "Can't do anything about it though, so you just gotta keep moving on. Otherwise-" He took a breath, "otherwise you won't make it through this shit."

He nodded for us to follow him. All three of us moved as silently as we could through what amounted to a narrow, low tunnel enveloped in darkness. The only way I knew I was moving in the right direction, was the occasional sway of Severa's long hair, and the sloshing of water from footfalls in front of me.

I gasped when I felt stone brush against both of my shoulders, and I realized the tunnel had been slowly shrinking around us as we walked. A sense of panic filled me, and my breathing quickened. Gaius hissed back at me from the shadows ahead.

"Deep breath, Lucky. We're right below the dungeons now." His voice sounded like it was getting closer. I heard both Gaius and Severa grunt as it sounded like Gaius was squeaking past her. Gaius tapped me on the shoulder, "This is where you come in."

My eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

"The space ahead is small. I might fit through, but you definitely can." Gaius breathed, "Having no meat on your bones is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for ya."

My heart stopped in my chest as I picked up on what Gaius wanted me to do.

"You want me going in alone?"

Gaius uttered a heavy sigh, "Me and Sev need to find another way in. She can't fit. Too tall."

"My height is perfectly fine." Severa snarled behind him.

Water sloshed in the tunnel as Gaius squeezed by me. Severa followed him. My breath shot from my lungs as Severa shoved me as far against the wall as she could in order to get around me. Normally I would have protested, but given the possible reputation I had after the brooch incident, I couldn't blame Severa for being so rough about this. That is, if she even knew the full extent of that. For all I knew, she was just being her usual, abrasive self.

"Alright Lucky, listen carefully." Gaius breathed, his breath near my ear so that he wouldn't have to talk loud, "I've been in this place a couple times before, but that was before ol'Grima woke up a little while back. Not sure how much, if anything, has changed on the inside, but we are right below the dungeons. They are not big. Very cramped actually. Which means there are not many places to hide." I felt him tap the hatchet on my right hip, then tap the dagger on my left, "Be ready to use those."

I struggled to catch my breath as more panic filled me. I have never been in a true fight before. Sure, I've done a lot of training, but there is a level of safety that comes with just training. I knew Gaius and Anna would not intentionally kill me in training. There were moments where I could tell Anna wanted to end my life, but she never acted on those impulses, and in fact used my screw ups to instill harsh lessons that so far served me decently. All of that safety, the net that kept me from going splat, would be gone once I left this tunnel. Anything and everything would be trying to kill me, and I would have to try and kill them right back, living or undead.

God, I am not ready for this.

"Lucky…"

"Gaius, I can't do this."

"Sure you can. Just get through the crawlspace, keep moving forward and-"

"I'm gonna be sick." I gasped, doubling over in the tunnel and resting my hands on my knees. I could feel my stomach rolling violently, and it made me want to vomit.

Gaius was quiet a moment. To my surprise, he patted my back.

"Sam," He breathed, using my actual name for the first time in… ever, "Chin up, alright?" A ragged gasp left my lips as I slowly raised my head. I could barely make out Gaius's face in the darkness, "Like it or not, Sam, you're gonna have to do this. I get you're scared. I'm scared too. This entire situation is insane, and I wouldn't ask this of you if I had any other options. But right now, two peoples' lives depend on what we do. Anna and Lucina are likely up there," He said, likely pointing at the stone ceiling over our heads, "Naga only knows what Grima is doing to them. We need to get them out of there, and it's up to you to get in there and find them so that once me and Sev get in, we can get them out." He placed a hand on my shoulder, "I'm not asking you to be the hero. I'm asking you to be my eyes. Can you do that for me?"

It might sound like I have a choice in this matter, but deep down, I knew I did not. If there was any hope for Lucina and Anna, I needed to sneak into the dungeons and find them. Gaius and Severa would come in at that point. After that… I had no idea. In this instance, I remembered some advice I received during my first job as a teenager.

Focus on your job, and only your job. If you can do that, then you'll be alright.

I nodded, and Gaius smiled at me.

"Good." He glanced back at Severa, started to walk away, then paused to talk to me again, "When you find them, we'll find you. Just… make sure you get a good hiding spot."

"W-wait how will you find me if-"

The sound of half frozen water sloshing began to fade down the tunnel, turning to nothing more than echo. A simple sign that told me both Severa and Gaius were already gone, likely able to move faster without me slowing them down.

Now, I was alone… beneath an enemy Keep… in the dark.

_Fuck._

I grit my teeth and leaned against the tunnel wall, exhaling hard as I struggled to work up the nerve to keep going forward. I shook my head, doubt and fear gripping my mind tight like a vice. Rendering me immobile.

"C'mon Sam." I tapped the side of my head with my hand, "C'mon, they need you." I exhaled again, "They need you." I raised my eyes to face the darkness, "Anna and Gaius need you."

With one final deep breath, I put one foot in front of the other. I grimaced as I felt more ice cold water slosh into my boots. My socks felt soaked, my bladder felt full, and my heart was bursting with fear. Nonetheless, I had to push forward. This dark tunnel had to end at some point. When it did, the only place I had to go was up.

Into the heart of the enemy horde.

* * *

No more water! No more ice! No more sloshing, and no more darkness! I wanted to jump for joy, but at the moment I found myself poking my head slowly out of a small trap door in… in… what I could only assume was some sort of-

_Holy shit, it reeks in here! _I thought, my nose wrinkling in disgust.

There were several strange benches lining the walls, of which I was popping out of one with a lid over a hole in… the… bench…

A lump formed in my throat.

_That water down there wasn't water, was it?_

A shiver ran up my spine. Vomit crept up my throat. I gagged, loudly. It's not like I could stop myself. I did just realize I spent the past few minutes crawling through the Keep's sewer, after all. The place might not have been used recently due to the Risen conquering the port city, but that did not matter. There were still body fluids in my boots, and I had the distinct feeling it was not clean water.

_This day keeps getting worse. _I thought as I pulled myself up through the medieval equivalent of a toilet bowl and fell flat onto my back onto a cold stone floor, _Worse, and worse._

I lay there for a moment, just contemplating how in the fuck I got to this point. My mind wandered, once again, with as poor timing as ever. I only snapped out of my daze when I heard footsteps marching past the doorless outhouse I was in. I scrambled to my feet and pressed my back against one wall, near the gap where the door was supposed to be. I prayed I chose the right side, because if the footsteps were walking towards me, I'd have to get into a fight. I had a feeling that the end result would be terrible.

I suppressed a relieved sigh as I watched a pair of figures in purple robes, lined with gold trim, walk by me, their backs facing me. That relief was quelled when I realized those two figures were not Risen, but actual Dark Mages. Likely former members of a cult of Dark Mages called the Grimleal. If I remembered events from the game correctly, they were the ones trying to bring Grima back to life. Seeing as they succeeded in the time I am currently in, it was only logical at that point for them to pledge their allegiance to their evil deity.

_Risen I can deal with… probably. _I thought, swallowing hard and wincing as my dry throat throbbed, _A dark mage though? _I shivered as I recalled my lone encounter with Henry back in Arena Ferox, _Never again._

As the mages walked away, their hoods drawn over their heads, I overheard them talking.

"Any luck in making that damn Naga-spawn talk?"

I perked up, _Naga-spawn?_

They paused in front of a lone sconce on the wall, which provided muted, orange firelight to the already dim, dark, dungeon corridor. I kept my eyes on them, while at the same time, trying to make myself as small as possible as I kept my back pressed to the cold, stone wall.

The other mage shook their head, "Nothing. She's a tough one, like that Princess."

My eyes widened. They're not talking about Lucina. That's either a really good, or a really bad thing. Good in that it sounded she wasn't being tortured. Bad because that probably meant she was no longer alive. But if they weren't talking about the Ylissean Princess, then they had to be talking about Anna. She was the only other "Naga-spawn" in this city, besides me, Gaius, and Severa. As far as I was aware, Gaius and Severa were safe (safe being a very debatable word to use right now, but at the very least, they were not in enemy hands). That left only Anna as the subject of the mage's conversation.

"Huh, strange. Most break already." The first mage commented, "Y'know, I'm kinda wondering why we left her alive in the first place."

"The Mistresses' orders, you know that."

I furrowed my brow. That was new.

_Mistresses?_

"They'll probably take over the interrogation now." The second mage noted.

"Ha! That they will. They'll probably enjoy it too." They both started to walk away, but as they walked away, I heard the first mage say something else, "Don't ya think we're leaving a bit early for the guard shift?"

"Who's gonna break in here? A Risen?"

They're conversation faded away, and I could scarcely believe my luck. At the very least, I found one person. Anna had to be nearby if those two mages were considered guards. Gaius needed me to find her and Lucina, but he never said what order. Given the circumstances, I doubted the order really mattered.

Once I was sure that the two mages were far enough down the corridor, I threw my dark hood over my head and slipped out of the dungeon bathroom. I crept along as quietly as I could. Turns out, all of that training, both physical, and in the art of sneaking (thank you Gaius), made me a little lighter on my feet than I previously thought. My boots hardly made a sound as I tiptoed along the corridor.

I dashed from one wall to the other as I attempted to avoid the occasional sconce set into the stone walls. Staying in the shadows was an extra precaution on my part. Those mages made it sound like they were the only ones down here, but I could not be too careful. For all I knew there was-

A low groan made my hair stand on end, and I pressed my back against the wall. Not like that was an effective hiding spot, but instincts took over. In this case, instincts were bad.

Out of the corner of my eye, standing guard in front of a barred cell, was the biggest Risen I have seen so far. It looked like a tall mountain of muscle. No armor covered it's rotting carcass of a body. The only clothing it wore was a simple loincloth around its waist, chains around it's wrists, and a heavy sack with holes for eyes and a mouth over its head.

The monstrosity was made even more terrifying by the long limbs and sharp claws it had on the end of those long limbs. The claws were inky black and razor sharp. This thing did not need any weapons. Those claws were more than enough to easily filet someone like me.

_And if I were a betting boy, Anna's in that cell._

I squeezed my eyes shut and whimpered under my breath. Why does Murphy's Law always have to be right? I thought crawling out of a toilet might actually end up being the worst part of my day, but now I'm going to have to fight a Risen in order to figure out how to save Anna.

Somehow, I got the feeling that those two should have been reversed.

I took a deep breath and set my sights on the tall, muscular Risen. My right hand reached for my hatchet and slowly drew it from my belt. The steel axe head glinted in the dim firelight.

I took one step forward. Then another. My heart hammered in my chest. Adrenaline shot through my veins faster than a bullet. Flight so far was winning over fight, but I could not turn and run. It would see me then.

Just a little closer. I dropped to a low crouch. Maybe, if I became shorter it wouldn't see me?  
It's head turned, and it looked down.

_Gaius, your nickname for me is a fucking curse._

A low growl emanated from the shadow filled mouth. Black teeth glinted within the burlap sack covering its head and face. Inky black ooze dripped from it's gaping mouth like saliva, and it's red eyes glared at me like a pair of evil rubies. I stared back up at it, completely immobile. Unsure of what to do. Do I swing my hatchet? Do I curl up into a ball? What do I do?

"Uh… hi?"

One powerful arm slammed into my left shoulder, planting me hard into the stone wall right next to me. My head whipped against the stone, and it hit with a hard crack. A bright light flashed in my eyes, and stars followed. I slumped to the ground, wincing as pain filled my shoulder.

A low growl filled my ears. Adrenaline forced the stars from my eyes. I yelped as I watched a set of black claws rush down at my face. With agility I did not know I possessed, I ducked to the side, rolled past the Risen, and swung my hatchet at the back of its knee with all of the strength I had in my noodly arms

The steel bit into the rotting flesh with a sickening squelch. The strike only came to a shuddering stop when I felt my hatched strike bone. The Risen howled, and spun around to attack again. I did not let go of my hatchet like I probably should have. So when it spun around, I spun with it. Twirling around the Risen like a wierd, backwards, chaotic tango.

I struggled to yank my hatchet free from the back of the Risen's leg, but it would not budge. The rotting bones within would not release it. Just as I attempted another strong tug, the Risen kicked it's leg out, throwing me forward and causing me to lose my grip on my hatchet.

I slid across the corridor, panicked at my lack of weapon, realized I had two daggers, and quickly drew the small one. The Risen launched at me, crossing the corridor in two, slow, but powerful strides. It raised it's powerful arms, ready to use its claws to shred me into mincemeat.

But I moved faster. All of the training Frederick, Gaius, and Anna drilled into me kicked in. I ducked beneath the Risen's wild swing and jabbed my smaller dagger into its gut. Moving with the momentum of my strike, I slid to the left, dragging the blade through its rotting flesh, disemboweling the Risen, and causing it to utter a sharp howl.

As my enemy reeled, I reached behind me and drew my long dagger. The one Anna told me to specifically use if I got into true close quarters combat. I swept around the Risen as it slumped to its knees, placed the blade of my dagger across its neck, and sawed as hard as I could until I felt cold, black liquid rush over my right hand. The Risen uttered a gurgling sound, slumped forward, then collapsed into a pile of fine black ash.

It took me a moment to register that I won, but when it did sink in, I gasped and fell onto my butt. My wide eyes stared stupefied at the pile of black ash on the floor, then they flicked to my hands, which were covered in a cold, black ooze that smelled like… well, like death.

I took a deep breath, exhaled, and inhaled sharply again.

"Holy shit." I breathed, my hands trembling, daggers rattling in my grip.

I blinked, struggled to stick my daggers back in their sheathes, then reached for my hatchet, which rested in the pile of black ash. I grimaced at it as I noticed a large dent along the blade.

"Anna's gonna kill me." I muttered.

"She'll probably… congratulate you… whoever you are…" A small, weak voice replied, making me shoot up to my feet and draw my little dagger again.

I spun around and stared into the cell the Risen was guarding. Leaning up against the rusting, frozen bars of the cell, was a frail, blue haired woman with ghost pale skin. Her blue eyes looked faint instead of vibrant. Her cheeks were hollow, face gaunt, I felt like I could break her just by touching her. Nonetheless, despite the weakness evident in her voice, there was a hint of defiance that made me admire her in that moment.

It was not Anna, which threw me off for a split second. Then I realized who exactly I was talking to.

"Oh…" I muttered, eyes slowly widened, "Oh!" I scrambled to the cell and inspected the door, noticing a keyhole without a key, "Fuck."

"Locked…" The blue haired girl snorted, "Those mages had the-"

I reached into a pouch on my belt, "Don't worry- uh- Lucina?"

"Yeah?"

I nodded, "Yup. Um…" I withdrew a small, metal pick and slowly inserted it into the keyhole, "With how many times I've stolen something for Gaius, I think I should be able to pick a lock at this point just…" I winced and twisted, "Shit this one is sticky."

The lock clicked, and a smile crossed my lips for the first time all day.

"Got it!"

I carefully pulled the door open, wincing as the metal hinges groaned loudly in the corridor. The sound elicited a weak laugh from Lucina.

"If they didn't know you were here before, they do now."

"Yeah well," I stepped inside, undid my black cloak, and put it over her frail shoulders. Poor girl looked like she was freezing to death, "Hopefully both of us will be out of here soon."

Lucina exhaled as I threw one of her arms over her my skinny shoulders, "Yeah… let's hope so."

Now, I know Gaius told me to wait. To not play the hero and to just be his eyes so that when he did get here, he and Severa could do the rescuing, and I could just get out of the way. But considering that I just made a lot of noise killing a Risen behemoth, and the door decided to give away my position, I figured it'd probably be a good idea to get moving.

"So," Lucina muttered, voice incredibly weak as we hobbled back up the corridor, towards the dungeon bathroom, "Who are you?"

"Me? Um… Sam."

"And you're one of Gaius's friends?"

I grunted, "Trainee."

Her eyes widened, "Oh… well…" She nodded, "It's a good thing we have hope."

That made me laugh a little, "I didn't think you'd be the smart ass type."

"I'm too tired to have courtly manners."

"Fair enough."

The further down the corridor we went, the more odd this entire situation became. I thought someone would have heard me struggling to free Lucina. At the very least, those two dark mages that passed me earlier should have heard me barely beating a slow Risen.

Even Lucina appeared perplexed. That, or she was about to pass out. Frankly it could go either way.

"You alright?" I asked, as we slowed down and I gave her a moment to catch her breath.

"Don't worry about me." Lucina breathed, "Are you alone here?"

I shook my head, "N-no, Gaius and Severa should be around soon."

"Gaius and Sev?" Lucina replied, "What is Sev-"

"Couldn't make her stay." I answered before she could finish asking.

That made Lucina laugh, then cough hard. Once the coughs finished wracking her lungs, she lifted her head just enough to glance up at me, "Sounds about right."

"Yeah and-" I froze as I heard a herd of footsteps marching towards us. Just a few paces ahead, was the bathroom I arrived in, "Gotta move fast."

"Lead the way."

It took all of the muscles I had (which is not much), to haul Lucina into that bathroom. I put her up onto one of the benches, then pressed myself against the wall, watching for whoever was about to walk by.

They did not move past the doorway. Instead, my worst fears came true, and two new dark mages strode into the bathroom. A pair of scary women that made ice run cold in my veins. One had strange, graying skin with dark markings running along it. Black eyes narrowed at me, and I froze beneath their glare. Beside her was another dark mage wearing more modest black robes with gold accents. Her jet black hair and pale skin was a stark contrast to the other mage with her graying skin and partially white hair. If anything, she looked more friendly. But after my encounter with Henry, I knew better.

"Well, well, well," The first dark mage with graying skin rasped, eyes alight with feral excitement. She was like a predator, and I was her prey, "look at this, little Tharja."

A knot tightened in my throat. Now I recognized the second dark mage, and for some reason, the bad feeling in my gut grew worse.

"There is a Ylissean rat running through the dungeons."

The mage extended a hand, a blast of purple energy hit me, and the lights went out.

**And chapter! Shit has hit the fan for Sam. Now he's part of the rescue mission, but on the other end of it. Hopefully, Gaius and Severa can rescue him, Anna, and Lucina. But now, we've got two new enemies to contend with, one of whom I am certain no one here expected. So surprise! I've got some fun plans in store for her.**

**As for the real world, everyone stay safe out there. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, don't lick stuff, you all know the drill. Hopefully this entire panic will be over soon, and we can get back to semi-normal at some point.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**


	17. Jeopardy

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 17

Jeopardy

For the first time, in the few times that I have been knocked out in my life (which has significantly upticked since I was hit by the bus), I woke up not lying down. Instead, I was chained up. My arms were bound by heavy chains that descended down from a stone ceiling like a dangling vine. My feet were in the same state, strapped down by chains tightly to the ground. To my complete discomfort, my feet were, in fact, not on the ground. I was dangling midair.

That's when the dislocation in my shoulders registered.

"Ffffffff-" I hissed, squeezing my eyes shut and hanging my head. My voice came out in a hoarse wheeze. Dangling like this made it fucking hard to breathe. I tried to suck in a deep breath, only for my lungs to ache in protest, "God dammit."

"You… fucking… idiot."

Whatever pain I felt, whatever anxiety I had about being chained up in a dark room where I could not see the exit, left me. Replaced by fear of an entity that I was already very familiar with.

With great effort, I turned my head, which in turn, started an uncomfortable cycle of me spinning around in a circle, like a slow, mid-air top. As I turned, I caught sight of Anna, glaring at me.

"Oh… uh…" I gave her a sheepish look, "Look, this was supposed to go a lot better than this."

Anna scowled at me. She was in a similar position as me. Hands hanging over her head, cinched up at the wrists by chains. Her body also suspended mid air, sitting upright like a post. Her clothes were torn in several places, showing bloody patches of skin due to harsh gashes from god only knows what. Probably a blade, or something along those lines. It made me feel sick just thinking about it. Heavy bags sat under her red, puffy eyes. She'd been crying.

… Anna never cries.

My stomach dropped as I looked at her, then lost sight of her as I rotated around. Towards the end of my little spin, I spotted Lucina dangling on the other side of me. Before I could get a good look at her unconscious form, I stopped, the tension in my arms threatening to snap, then I started to rotate back around the other way. Pain lanced through my body due to my dislocated shoulders, but at this point, I had to try and ignore it. Somehow… someway...

_It hurts! It hurts a lot!_

"You're so fucking…" Anna's voice choked. I caught sight of her glance up at the ceiling, where a metal grate sat above us, allowing some sort of light to filter into our prison. She uttered a shaky breath, and her voice leveled out, "I gave you a job, Sam, and you-"

"Yeah well, you always say I'm not good at listening." I replied with a sharp wince. I started spinning back the other way.

"You're not supposed to be like Gaius, damn it!" Anna snapped, eyes wide with fury and fear. Her strong mask wavered again, and a ragged huff slipped from her lips, "Damn you…" She hung her head, breaths shuddering out of her body with an unhealthy rattle, "At least tell me the kids listened?"

I started spinning, rotating around so that I could look at her for a few seconds, again. I did not reply, mostly due to fear grabbing me by the throat and choking me. Either that, or I was starting to asphyxiate. Maybe a panic attack from both?

_We'll go with a panic attack._

Anna's eyes widened as I stayed quiet, "Sam- for the love of Naga- tell me Sev, Owain, Morgan, and Cynthia are-"

A heavy lock clanked. My eyes whipped over to an iron door in the wall in front of me, which slowly became the wall behind me as I spun back around. I tried to wriggle myself to rotate back faster, but that only made the immense pain in my shoulders worse. The door opened as I slowly turned back, and the two dark mages from before stepped inside.

Anna's wide eyes whipped from me to the dark mages, "Th-Tharja?"

Tharja was the second mage to enter the room. Her dark eyes were hidden behind her midnight colored bangs as she kept her chin tucked. She clenched a heavy spellbook tight to her chest, wedged between her robes and her arms. The only hint of color in her outfit was the gold trim along the fringes of the robes, and the gold headpiece in her hair. She did not look much different than how I saw her in game. The biggest difference was her suddenly more modest choice of robes. In game, her outfit was… let's go with excessively airy. She wasn't wearing Gandalf style robes now, but a lot more of her body was covered. The only other difference I could make out in the darkness were the dark circles around her eyes, whenever she did manage to glance up at me, Anna, and Lucina.

The first mage, the woman with much less modest robes, graying skin, and an overall evil aura, snickered darkly as Anna gaped at Tharja.

"Oh you know these ones, Little Tharja?"

Tharja scowled behind her spellbook, "Quit calling me that, Aversa."

My heart lodged in my throat, and I struggled to draw in enough air. Aversa was another name I recognized, although she looked wildly different than her in game portrait. If there was such a thing as magical corruption, then she had it. Her skin was gray, like stone, and I swore I saw some cracks in her complexion. Her eyes burned bright yellow, an unnatural glow that made my stomach churn with anxiety as they landed on me for a brief moment. She did not carry a spellbook, but I could feel the hairs on my arms standing on end due to the power that radiated from her.

_This is bad. Very, very bad. _I started rotating around again, _Shit, fuck, ouch!_

"Tharja how… how could you?" Anna's voice descended to a dangerous growl, "We thought you were dead. How could you betray us?"

"Quite easily, as it turns out." Aversa answered for the quieter mage, "But you are not allowed to ask questions here, Anna." Aversa stepped around the room, heels clacking against the stone in a way that made me squeeze my eyes shut. I just knew she was walking around the room so that she could observe me as I finished my little spin, "Instead, we're here to… interrogate you three."

"Torture." Anna snarled back.

Aversa shrugged, "If that's what it takes for us to get the answers we desire, then so be it."

My eyes shot open as fear gripped me harder than before. Torture? I did not sign up for torture. No, no! I'd like to wake up from this nightmare now.

_I'm going to hear a heart monitor, _I thought, trying to will myself into waking up in a hospital bed only to be told I had been in a bus accident. That seemed far more preferable than torture. I'll take the months of physical therapy from that over what I saw in front of me, _There's gonna be my family sitting there, all worried and stuff. There's gonna be a nurse checking on me. It'll be like a Scrubs episode, only not as funny._

Aversa snickered as she glared at me, "This one is terrified." She flicked her hand.

I yelped as I suddenly dropped. As if a chair had been kicked out from beneath my feet. The chains around my ankles coiled beneath me as I fell. My eyes widened as I expected to fall hard onto a pile of iron and stone, but instead, I stopped. My eyes widened, and I screamed as my shoulders threatened to tear from their sockets.

"Leave him alone!" Anna growled.

Aversa's eyes gleamed as mine watered. Any further screams died in my throat as the pain turned to a sharp throbbing. My mind already felt hazy, but I could not fall asleep. I was too afraid.

Aversa stalked towards me, reached out, and gripped me by my chin. Her shape fingernails dug into my cheeks. Small beads of hot blood hit my cold skin as she tightened her grip.

"Hmm…." She turned my head from side to side, "You're the right amount of terrified. Is he new?" She asked Anna.

"Go to hell!" Anna snapped as she struggled against her chains.

Aversa shrugged, "We're already living in your version of it." She whipped her gaze to Tharja, "Recognize this one?"

Tharja shook her head as she eyed me. I stared right back, through my bleary vision, into her dark irises. For a split second, I thought I saw a flash of sympathy there. A slight acknowledgement of the pain and fear I felt, and the pity that most people felt towards others in such a situation. It evaporated quickly when Aversa spoke again.

"What use is he to us then?" I heard the sound of a knife drawn from a scabbard, "I'll cut his throat and be done with him."

A whimper slipped from my lips as her heels clacked towards me.

"He has uses." Tharja murmured, staying Aversa's hand as she pressed the blade to my neck.

Aversa gave Tharja a puzzled look, "How so? Do you plan on feeding him to the dogs?"

Now, you'd think I'd be too terrified to say anything. But let me tell you something: fear is a hell of a drug. It can make you say things, in certain situations, that you know you really shouldn't say. In this case, it allowed the Gaius influence to flow freely from my lips like some snarky guy filled with confidence that I definitely knew I was not.

"You all have dogs?" I said, a pained laugh following my wince, "Poodles? No, no…" I took a deep breath as Aversa's eyes narrowed at me dangerously, "Too fluffy for you. You're more of a Shar Pei kinda lady. Dogs take after their owners, and my god you're one ugly woman."

One hand gripped me by the back of my head, pulling at my brown hair. I winced as she titled my head back, exposing my throat to the dangerously sharp blade in her other hand.

"Sam, knock it-"

"Silence, Merchant!" Aversa threatened, "If I did not need it, I would gladly cut out that barbed tongue of yours." She glared at Tharja next, "He better be damn useful. And not just for an experiment."

"He is." Tharja muttered, her voice barely louder than a whisper, "Think about it. Trying to make Anna talk through torture alone will not work."

Anna's entire body tensed, "Tharja you-"

"Torture him, while asking her your questions." Tharja suggested.

Anna roared, "When I get out of this, I'm going to find you and slit your throat, Witch!"

Tharja gave Aversa a strangely out of place, dark smirk, "See?"

A dangerous sparkle danced in the glowing eyes. Like embers dancing on top of coals. Aversa licked her lips and withdrew the knife from my throat.

"I see…" She grinned from ear to ear. A cackle erupted from her, "Tharja, Tharja, as deliciously devilish as ever. Excellent."

Neither mage moved. I swallowed hard. I already knew where this was going. They were gonna torture me to get to Anna. Terrible plan, in my opinion. Mostly because it involved a tremendous amount of pain on my part. I'll take their plan 'B', thank you very much.

"Well, Tharja," Aversa waved her hand, "After you."

Tharja was caught off guard. She was dead silent. All I could hear was the sound of my breathing, Anna's furious growls as she struggled against her chains, and a faint murmur that came from Lucina's unconscious form.

"Can you repeat that, Aversa?" Tharja finally answered.

Aversa smirked evilly, "You have yet to do battle against the Naga-spawn. For some reason, our Master has acquiesced to your wishes to remain behind the front lines. Me? I'm not so lenient. If you will not slay the Shepherds in the field, you will do so here." She cackled again, "And this way can be much… much… more fun."

She stepped back around me so that she stood beside Tharja again. As she moved, she waved her hand, and I spun violently back around to face them.

_Magic chains… go figure._

"I'll ask the questions if you want." Aversa suggested.

"No." Tharja sighed. Her fingers cracked open her spellbook, and, once again, I struggled to breath, "If I'm going to torture them, I will ask the questions."

Aversa's eyes gleamed with delight as her companion stepped forward, "Very good."

Tharja stopped a few steps in front of me. I tried to peer into her spellbook as she leafed through the pages. She came to a stop on a page littered with diagrams of the human body. Almost like something Da Vinci would have drawn. She ran a finger down the page and paused next to an inscription I could not read. The handwriting was too small.

She muttered a phrase, and a stream of violet smoke billowed out the book. It shot towards me, slamming into my face, rushing into my nose and mouth. It choked any air from my body for a few, terrifying moments. When I was finally able to inhale again, something felt different. I glanced up, and saw purple lines running through the skin on my hands. I may not be able to see the rest of my body, but I had a feeling the rest of me looked the same way.

"Sam…" I glanced over at Anna. She shook her head, "Stay strong, you hear me? Stay-"

I felt an itch on my nose. It was a small nuisance, but uncomfortable nonetheless. I scrunched up my nose, hoping that by wrinkling the skin the itch would go away. But it remained, and only grew worse.

"This is a hex that inflicts pain." Tharja explained, "It will gradually increase over time. A slow, steady climb to unbearable agony." She turned to face Anna, "Fail to answer a question in a way I'm satisfied with, and I will make that slow climb much swifter."

"I'm going to kill you when we're done here." Anna threatened.

My nose started to burn, "A-Anna." I stammered, "Sh-she's not kidding."

"I know she isn't!" Anna snapped back.

Tharja raised a hand, silencing both of us. My eyes were glued to that hand. Focused on the slender, pale fingers that trembled ever so slightly in the shadowy cell I hung in. She took a deep breath, her dark eyes glancing over at Anna again.

"First question." She glanced at me, "This one is for both of you."

_Uh oh._

"What is the condition of the Naga-spawn army?"

_Shit._

"Um…"

"Sam-" Anna warned.

"Hey!" I snapped back, jerking my head towards her, "You aren't the one with the pain hex."

"If you break, then I'll break you." Anna threatened, teeth grit as she returned her attention to our captors.

"That-" I blinked, "That makes about- um… how can you break me twice?"

"I'll find a way."

Aversa rolled her eyes, "These two are close. Makes me a touch ill to witness."

"We are not that close." Anna shot back.

I winced as the itch on my nose started to feel like a bad sunburn, "Ouch." I said, mostly due to the pain.

"Sam, now's not the time to act offended." Anna sighed, hanging her head.

"I was not- I-" I let my head fall back, "Jesus take the wheel."

Suddenly the pain in my nose lanced to my jaw, then to my ears. An unbearable itch burned in my ear canal. The absolute worst place to get an itch, because no matter how hard I tried, even with my hands free, I can never scratch that. All I could do was suffer through the itch until it either faded away, or I began swiping at it like a dog with fleas. Except now, my hands were tied up over my head, and I couldn't reach my arm with my head.

"Anna…"

"If you can't handle an itch-"

"It's in my ear!"

Anna was quiet a moment, "Okay yeah, I'll give you that one."

"Both of you be silent!" Aversa snapped, folding her arms and glaring at us with a burning hatred. I swallowed hard as my mouth snapped shut, "Now answer the question."

I furrowed my brow, glanced over at Anna, "Uh… but you just said-"

Tharja twisted her hand. The itch in my ear shot throughout my entire face. Everything felt hot. The only thing I could compare this sensation to was a sunburn. Not a little, pink burn that you get when you forget to put on sunblock while at the pool for a couple hours. I'm talking nuclear red, out in the sun all day without any protection, type of sunburn. The kind that peels almost instantly, and that itches like crazy.

It was enough to make me squeeze my eyes shut.

"Sam-"

"It's getting worse." I muttered, cracking my eyes open enough to glance at Anna.

"Don't focus on it."

A loud, mocking laugh erupted from my lungs, "What the hell am I supposed to focus on then?" Anna frowned back at me as I shook my head. Small, pained laughs continued to bubble from my lungs, "Let's see, there's a stone wall there. Another stone wall over there. Lucina might be waking up and… no wait, false alarm. Oh yeah, and-"

"You're panicking."

"I'm doing what I do best!" I hissed.

Aversa scowled as she glared up at me and Anna. Her scowl turned to Tharja, "Remove the hex." Tharja arched an eyebrow, "Put it on the merchant."

Tharja seemed puzzled, "But we-"

"Just do it." Aversa hissed.

Tharja frowned at Aversa. Part of me wondered if she would resist Aversa's command. After a silent moment, Tharja lowered her hand. The pain I felt throughout my head evaporate, and my thoughts were finally clear. I long breath left my lips and I sagged forward.

Everything was back to normal… mostly. There was still the whole chained to the ceiling and floor problem. And the being held prisoner problem… and the dark mages… yeah, this was still not normal. This was still very bad, and for the life of me, I could not figure out a way out of this. Granted, I do not have much experience in life or death situations like this; but still, you'd think my brain would come up with something.

Nothing though. Not a damn thing.

_Might as well have a hamster on a wheel up there._

"Sam!"

I snapped back to the present moment. Tharja stood in front of Anna now. Anna's chains glowed a dark violet color as she descended to Tharja's eye level. For a small moment, they locked eyes. I could see Tharja's fingers trembling as she gripped her spellbook. An ever so slight tremor that, if I had not noticed it earlier, would've been completely inconspicuous. Anna glared angrily back at her old comrade.

"Whatever happens to me." Anna continued, voice even as she gave Tharja an unblinking stare, "Don't give them anything."

I gulped as the magical chains hoisted Anna back up to her original position again. I could hear her joints creak as the chains shuddered to a stop. Unlike me, the pain did not seem to faze Anna. Her face remained like stone, cold and unwavering.

The purple mist billowed out of Tharja's spellbook. It slowly floated up in a steady stream to Anna's face, before violently entering her body. I could hear Anna choke as she struggled to breath. Once the smoke disappeared, she gasped, lungs heaving hard as she inhaled a deep breath. Before she could do anything else, her eyes widened slightly. Sweat beaded on her brow. Her face lost some color as her hands clenched into fists, then relaxed, then clenched again.

I swallowed hard, "Anna?"

Her jaw clenched, "Not now." She hissed through her teeth.

Aversa's dark snickers echoed through the circular chamber, "Oh!" She smiled evilly, "You upped the severity right away?"

Tharja shrugged, "Anna's tolerance for pain is significant."

"Comes from being on the road on my own." Anna laughed, jaw still clenched tight, "Gotta learn to…" She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose, "...work through the pain."

Tharja ignored Anna's flippant reply. The Dark mage glanced at her colleague, "What now?"

Aversa smiled, drew a knife, and in one savage motion, jam the blade up through Anna's foot. Anna's eyes widened. She squeezed her eyes shut and her hands tightened into fists so tight that her knuckles turned white. I could hear her scream quietly to herself as she fought to keep her mouth closed.

"We have fun." Aversa grinned. Her attention turned to me, "You there, what is your name?"

Anna inhaled sharply as Aversa twisted the knife.

_Give nothing. Give nothing._

"Call me… Lucky." I replied, with a slight grin.

A quiet laugh slipped from Anna's clenched jaw, "Very lucky."

Aversa's eyes gleamed, "Lucky?" She drew the knife from Anna's foot. Blood spurted down from the wound. Scarlet drops dripped down onto the stones below us with wet plops. I gulped as Aversa sauntered towards me, bloody dagger wagging like a disapproving finger from a disappointed parent.

"You like to be funny, do you?" She asked me, yellow eyes burning holes through me.

I refused to make eye contact. If I did, I was afraid I'd have a massive panic attack and likely spill my guts. Anna told me not to give them anything. Lives depended on me remaining strong. Our lives depended on me not saying a word of substance. The longer I talked, the more time Gaius and Severa had to find us.

_If they aren't dead already, that is. _I gulped, _I panic, then I talk. Gotta direct the talk into nonsense then._

"Funny? Funny how?" I replied with a wry smirk, "Do I amuse you?"

Aversa furrowed her brow at me, "I fail to-"

"Am I simply amusing to you? Do I make you laugh?"

Anna opened her eyes enough to look at me like I was batshit insane. To be fair, at this moment, I very much felt insane.

Also, to be fair, I managed to elicit the faintest chuckle from Tharja as she lingered behind Aversa. It's amazing how that little accomplishment managed to give me such a massive boost of confidence. I suddenly felt a little taller in the room, figuratively speaking.

That confidence died when Aversa spun around and slashed through Anna's left calf. Anna yelped as the blade bit through her pant leg and left a jagged, bloody gash in its wake. My face blanched as I caught sight of the muscle through the wound, ripped open like a piece of meat at a butcher's shop. Bile crept up my throat as my eyes remained glued to the wound.

"That…" Avera pointed her dagger at my face, "That look. To answer your question: that is what amuses me."

I swallowed hard. Anna inhaled sharply, exhaled slowly. Just as she finished exhaling, her breath hitched, and she tensed in her chains.

"Naga…" She breathed, her face draining of color as pain I could not even imagine shot through her body.

"Don't focus on it, Anna." I said, trying my best to reassure her.

A dry laugh slipped from her lips. She hung her head, "Naga damn it. That is really bad advice. I get it now."

I blinked, "Oh… right. Forgot about that. Uh… what should I say?"

"Nothing," Anna squeezed her eyes shut again as a sharp breath shot through her clenched teeth, "at the moment."

"Should I distract you or-"

"Panicking."

"What else am I supposed to do!?" I cried out, frustrated and terrified.

She did not reply. Her back suddenly arched, and she threw her head back. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened. A quiet, croaking noise came from her gaping mouth, and it made my heart jump to my throat.

"A-Anna?"

Aversa's knife sank into Anna's right thigh. Like a rubber band losing all tension, Anna's entire body sagged. Ragged gasps rushed out of her lungs. Sweat dripped down from her nose, joining with the blood that formed a small red puddle on the floor.

"You have failed to answer two questions." Tharja told me, voice filled with warning. I turned my gaze to her. She remained fixed behind Aversa. Moving so that her colleague could not see her. Her hands were trembling as she clutched her spellbook to her chest, "Do you know nothing?"

I pursed my lips, "D-depends on what you define as nothing." I took a deep breath as Anna exhaled loudly, "Do you mean I'm an idiot? According to Anna, the answer is a resounding yes."

"You are." Anna agreed, voice weak.

"Or, do you mean that I literally know nothing. Which would be virtually impossible unless I was somehow a completely brain dead vegetable."

"It's possible." Anna muttered with a weak laugh.

"Finally, do you mean that I know nothing in regards to the particular questions being asked. In which case, how would you like your answers? Straight forward…" I chuckled uncontrollably as the panic consumed me, "or in Jeopardy format?"

"Where is the Fire Emblem!?" Aversa suddenly roared, yanking her dagger from Anna's thigh.

Anna screamed for the first time. It was a blood curdling sound that made my hair stand on end.

"Mr. Trebek!" I cried, my breathing coming in short, rapid bursts, "What is: that weird, shield thingy!"

"So you've seen the Fire Emblem?" Tharja asked.

I looked down at her, "Only through a screen."

_First honest answer all day. _I chuckled like a mad man, _That's funny._

Tharja uttered a heavy sigh. She glanced at Aversa, "We're getting nothing this way. Maybe we-"

"You… will never… have it."

My head whipped away from Anna, and the mages. Lucina's eyes were cracked open. I could barely see her blue eyes from where I hung. Her voice was weaker than before, and she hardly had the strength to hold her head up.

"We will never… let you take it."

Aversa's eyes gleamed with delight, "The Princess is awake." She grinned, "Believe me, dear." Aversa flicked her hand. The chains extended, swinging Lucina close to her. Aversa's hand whipped out and snatched Lucina by her jaw. Her long fingernails sank into Lucina's hollow cheeks, drawing thin trails of blood, "We are closer to getting it than you think."

Lucina opened her eyes enough in order to glare back at Aversa. The Witch's satisfied smirk turned into a dark scowl as Lucina's eyes burned with defiance. Before she could let her wrath fall upon the weakened Princess, Tharja cleared her throat.

"What about the gemstones?" Tharja interjected.

Anna's ragged breathing hitched, "The-the what?"

Aversa rolled her eyes. She shoved Lucina's away. The chains coiled up loudly as they yanked Lucina's mostly limp form back upright.

"Don't play coy, Anna." She spun a finger, and Anna's chains flipped over, turning Anna upside down. I grimaced as I watched hot trails of blood creep down her legs towards her torso, "You're an observant one. You'd have to have seen something." Aversa pressed the tip of her dagger to Anna's belly, "One little admission, and I will spare you some pain."

"Oh the gemstones!" I cried, drawing Aversa's attention away from Anna. The Witch's eyes flicked over to me, and I immediately regretted my decision. However, I started down this road of thought, and I could not stop now. Even Anna had limits to the amount of pain she could handle, "I know about those!"

Aversa furrowed her brow, the first hints of doubt crossing her features, "You do?"

I nodded emphatically, "Yup, I do." I cast a quick glance up at the grate over my head. For a split second, I saw a pair of heads staring down before quickly retreating away from the opening.

_Was that-_

My chains dropped, and I yelped as I felt my body go into freefall. After a second of falling, I jerked to a harsh stop. I bit back a scream as I felt my arms threaten to tear completely free from my body. The chains bit into my wrists as I struggled to keep limbs attached to my body. Tears bubbled in my eyes. Through those tears, I saw Aversa's glowing eyes glaring at me.

"What could you know about the gemstones?"

If I were to be honest, not much. I knew they were important in the Awakening game's main storyline. However, it had been so long since I played the game, that I could not accurately recall why. I just knew that the Shepherds needed them to defeat Grima.

I also recalled seeing a large amount of notes on the topic inside of Miriel's workshop. She had a whole shelf of tomes dedicated to the Fire Emblem and the gemstones the artifact held. I caught a brief glance of her detailed notes when I first met her. She hid them rather quickly when she saw me looking at them. Something was going on in regards to those stones, but I did not know what.

Anna whimpered, and my mind was ripped from my thoughts.

"Are you not going to talk now?" Aversa asked, scowling at me, "You were so eager to speak before. Then again, you also spoke a lot, but said little. Perhaps that is all you're good for."

"Ouch." I replied with a grimace, "I felt that one."

She pressed her bloody knife to my ear. Which was a new spot for the threats. The throat was getting a bit too common. But the ear? That was unsettling.

_She's going full Tarantino! _I thought, my eyes widening at that horrible realization.

"The gemstones." She snarled, pressed the knife against the soft tissue of my ear just enough to nick the skin, "Talk."

I took a deep breath. One more time, I looked up, pretending to try and find strength through the faint light that filtered down through the grate. Only the grate wasn't there anymore. My view of the sky was unimpeded.

The panic I felt faded, and I gave Aversa a wry, mad smirk. This was either about to go great, or poorly. Either way, I was not going to break.

"Well…" I cleared my throat, "My gemstone is a Sapphire." Aversa furrowed her brow as the most perplexed expression I've ever seen crossed her face, "Oh you look very baffled. I'm talking about birthstones, keep up. Hm… judging by your demeanor, general pissy attitude, and lack of care for others; I'm gonna say your gemstone is a lump of coal."

"That's not a gemstone." Tharja remarked.

I laughed. As Aversa glowered at me, her confusion turning to rage, I caught the faint flickering of torchlight high up on the wall in front of me. A broad smile crossed my lips.

"Precisely." I nodded, "It's worthless, unexciting, and only desirable when it's lit on fire."

A single torch whipped down at Aversa, smacking her in the chest. The flames immediately ignited her robes. With a shriek, she backed away from me and bumped against the wall.

Tharja snapped her gaze up and managed to avoid a second torch launched at her. As she scamped back, Gaius jumped down into the cell, shortsword drawn. He hit the ground feet first, ducked into a rolle, then pounced on Tharja. His momentum slammed the thinner mage into the wall, knocking the spellbook from her grasp. She froze as his blade kissed her neck.

Gaius did not look surprised to see her. Instead, he looked enraged.

"I should have known." He growled at Tharja.

A second body jumped down into the cell from where the grate used to be. Two red twintails rushed by me in a scarlet blur. Severa landed on the ground hard, and failed to act as graceful as Gaius. She stumbled, caught herself with her free hand, then brandished her blade at a burning Aversa.

Aversa managed to use a hex to quell some of the flames, but embers continued to lick at her skin. She glared furiously at Severa. Before the Witch could mutter an incantation, Severa charged. Aversa ducked out of the way, making Severa's blade skip across the stone wall. Sparks spat from the stone and steel, but the sudden miss did not faze Severa. The redhead whipped her free hand out as Aversa tried to dash away. My eyes widened as Severa's arm caught Aversa's head, clotheslining the tall mage and sending her flat on her back.

A sharp crack filled the cell when Aversa fell. Her head snapped back hard, and her eyes shut. Dark blood pooled beneath her head, staining her snow white hair. Did I care? Not one bit. I was too busy thanking every god in existence for Gaius and Severa's timely arrival. My entire body sagged as Severa spun around to look at me, Anna, then Lucina. Before I could say a word, she sprinted towards Lucina and hacked her blade at the chains binding her. Sparks spat from her sword, but the chains did not budge.

"Gaius!" She barked.

He must've noticed the magical nature of the chains as well, because his face screwed into a terrifying snarl. He pressed the edge of his blade against Tharja's throat. The Dark Mage's eyes widened as her back was pressed to the cold, stone wall behind her.

"Undo them, now." Gaius growled, eyes alight with anger.

Tharja swallowed, "Who's to say I'm able to-"

"I'm not asking." Gaius interrupted, his gaze lowering at her. He stared at her like an enraged dog pinning its ears back. One wrong move, one wrong word, and he would not hesitate to slit her throat, "I'm ordering."

Tharja clenched her jaw, "I figured, after all this time, you'd be happy to see me again."

"Sun-" Gaius caught himself, "I'd much rather continued believing you were dead." His glare darkened, "Then Noire wouldn't have to know her mother is a traitor."  
A dangerous gleam filled Tharja's dark eyes, "Careful with your words, thief."

"Don't threaten me." Gaius growled, "We both know I'm not going to cower to you now." He nodded back at me, Anna, and Lucina, "Undo them."

Tharja's eyes flicked down to the blade at her throat, "And if I don't?" The corner of her mouth twitched, "You can't kill me, because you need me to undo the chains, as well as reveal the way out of here. Meanwhile, all I have to do is wait for assistance to arrive."

"Hmmm… true, but then your life is forfeit anyways." Gaius remarked, freezing Tharja's growing smirk, "Only one way ends with you still breathing after this."

Tharja scowled, "You'll kill me anyways."

"That's for you to find out." Gaius growled.

The Dark Mage glanced up at me. Her gaze shifted over to Anna, who was barely conscious, and Lucina, who was struggling to remain awake as well. Both of them hung limply in their chains, tendons in their arms creaking as their weight pulled on them. I struggled to keep myself upright, ignoring the immense pain in my shoulders in the process.

A reluctant breath left Tharja's lips. With a wave of her hand, a purple glow covered the cold, steel chains. The glow lingered for a moment, then faded like wisps of faint smoke, twirling up into the dark sky over my head. I hung there a moment longer, then felt my entire body drop hard to the ground.

My feet hit first, my knees buckled, then I fell hard to my side. I uttered a long groan as I rolled onto my back, chains scrapping loudly against the rocky ground as I moved. Through my hazy mind, I heard Lucina's chains break, followed by Anna's. Finally, Severa stood over me.

"What happened to finding a good hiding spot?" She asked me.

I raised my brow, "You wanna argue about this later?"

I heard her harrumph at that. Wordlessly, she broke the chains from my wrists and ankles. The pressure around them eased, and a sharp ache replaced the pressure. If I could move my arms, I would have started rubbing my wrists. I could feel how raw the skin was through my sleeves. The rough skin kept catching on the fabric, and god did it itch already.

"Up." Severa remarked. She grabbed me by my armpits and hauled me to my feet.

"Thanks." I muttered back before glancing around, "What now?"

"We get out of here." Gaius answered, voice still sharp and furious.

"They'll hunt you." Tharja warned him, "You can kill me, and they will still come after you."

"I'm pretty good at escaping dungeons." Gaius replied through clenched teeth, "Was an old hobby of mine in my youth. Street urchins get caught often when living off stolen bread."

Tharja scoffed, "And you expect pity? Or perhaps, you want me to be impressed? Intimidated?" Her hands were still trembling at her sides as she locked eyes with Gaius, "I only feel… relief."

"Oh? Why's that?"

A dark smirk crossed her features, "The end for you Naga-spawn is nigh. The war will end soon, and there is nothing any of you can do to stop it." She snickered, and my hair stood on end, "He's coming, and from where you least expect it, Gaius. Best be prepared."

Gaius furrowed his brow in response. His mask of fury was broken by what appeared to be mild confusion. I had a hard time telling, because before Tharja could continue taunting him, he smacked the pommel of his sword against the top of her head. Tharja's eyes rolled and she fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Gaius worked his jaw back and forth as he glanced down at her, then over to me and Severa. With a huff, he marched over to me, sheathed his sword, and grabbed my left shoulder.

"You know how this goes." He muttered.

"Fuck…" I muttered. He twisted, my shoulder popped, and the pain was relieved, "Ouch."

"No screaming this time." He patted my back then moved to my other shoulder, "They'll still hurt, and you won't have a lot of motion, but Libra can fix that when we get back."

"If we get back." Severa remarked. I hissed when Gaius popped my other shoulder back in place. While he did that, Severa reached down and put Lucina's limp form over her shoulders, "Why didn't you kill her?"

"Who, Tharja?" Gaius replied, a scowl on his lips. He pondered Severa's question for a moment, "A final courtesy."

"She wouldn't have given that to us." Severa replied, brow raised.

"But she did." Gaius sighed. He nodded at me and Anna, "They're alive." He stepped away from me and over to Anna, who lay sprawled out on the floor, red hair plastered against her sweaty forehead. Her entire body was shaking, but she was still awake. Gaius ran a hand over her forehead, reached into a pouch on his belt, and drew a vial filled with a gelatinous, purple liquid, "Drink up partner."

"How are Sam and Anna being alive a final courtesy?" Severa asked, absolutely puzzled by Gaius's logic. I was confused too. Being tortured definitely did not feel like a final courtesy.

"Do you really think Grima cares if they live or not?" He gestured to Lucina, who went unconscious over Severa's shoulders, "He cares about her, that much we know. But these two, especially Lucky?" He shook his head, "That was… that was the last act of Sunshine there."

"Sunshine?" Severa remarked, still confused.

"Forget about it." Gaius huffed, "Can you swing a weapon, Lucky?"

I barely noticed his question. My entire focus remained on Anna. Blood continued to pool beneath her wounds, despite whatever potion Gaius poured between her lips. My eyes were drawn to the dark, crimson liquid steaming against the frozen floor. It made me feel sick to look at, but I could feel my concern over feeling ill shift towards worry for Anna.

I have never seen her like this before. Eyes wide, bloodshot even as she lay breathlessly on the ground. There was a fear in her gaze that startled me. Her eyes landed on me, and I could see a desperate desire to run in that look. It made my anxieties evaporate as simmering anger filled me.

"Yeah." I grunted, "I can."

Gaius gave me a small grin, "Good kid." He patted my shoulder and I winced, "But you won't have to. Torn rotator cuffs might keep ya from being effective."

I raised an eyebrow, "I have-"

"In all likelihood." He shrugged, cutting me off, "But that doesn't mean you can't help carry Red."

He marched by me, over to the lone iron door embedded in the stone wall. He tapped it, then put his eyes near the lock, at about waist height. He hummed and reached into another pouch on his belt, withdrawing a lockpick.

"Get comfy with Red on your back now, Lucky." Gaius remarked, "Cause in about ten seconds, I'm gonna have this door open, then we're gonna have to run for our lives."

I gulped. Part of me wanted to point out that I had about as much strength as a piece of rotted plywood, but I also understood the dangerous situation we were in. Gaius was the only one in fighting shape. He had to move freely in order to guide us quickly through the ruined Port, beyond the walls to safety. Severa was busy shouldering Lucina, now I had to do my part.

I bent down and hooked one arm behind Anna's knees. A weak whimper slipped from her lips.

"For the love of Naga, don't hurt me anymore." She mumbled, her voice hoarse.

"I'm not going to." I replied gently as I hooked my other arm around her shoulders, "Just gonna get you out of here."

A heavy clank filled the air, and Gaius smiled back at me, "Time to go."

He shoved the door open. A Risen wielding a rusted ax greeted him. Gaius was not fazed. In one fluid motion, he swept beneath the Risen's raised arms, drew his sword, and slashed through its gut like a hot knife going through butter. The Risen grunted, then went silent as Gaius's blade jammed out through its mouth. It crumbled into a pile of ash.

"Let's go Sam!" Severa snapped at me.

She rushed through the door after Gaius, and I followed. I lost my grip on Anna for a moment, cursed under my breath as I struggled to keep carrying her, then decided that her comfort would have to be sacrificed in order for us to avoid dying.

"You can scream at me later." I told her.

"What… do you plan on-"

With all the strength my arms could muster, I tossed her weak form over my right shoulder. Pain lanced through my arm, down my chest and back as the damage in my shoulder became apparent. I groaned, bit my lip, then willed myself to move forward. Pain had to be ignored now. Survival mattered more.

I heard Anna call me something as adrenaline shot through my veins. In my mad dash out of the dungeons, towards the Keep's exit, I barely heard her as I rushed after Gaius and Severa. Gaius mowed Risen down in front of us. In the heat of battle, he moved with unrivaled quickness. Each swipe of his blade was fast and devastating. Calculated to deal a killing blow while giving him momentum to move on to the next strike. My mouth fell open in awe as I watched him drop to his knees, slide beneath a Risen's wild swing with its sword, then hop up and behead the monster in one stroke.

Severa snapped at me to keep moving, drawing me out of my head and refocusing me on the emergency at hand. We burst out a door along the Keep's southern wall. After a mad dash through the courtyard, we neared the main gate that led out to the rest of the city. Six Risen blocked the way out. Two were armed with bows. There was no way Gaius could handle all of them, and he knew it. I could see his steps begin to falter as he rapidly searched for another path out of the fortress.

He did not need to. As the Risen archers nocked arrows, and as the other four stalked towards us, I could see a cloud of snow and dust barrelling down the road towards the keep. Only one thing moved fast enough to kick up that much crap from the road.

"FOR JUSTICE!" Cynthia cried as she drove Anna's cart straight through the gate, running over the Risen archers.

A small bolt of lightning finished off the archers before they could get up again, and I saw Morgan standing in the back of the cart, spellbook open. Owain rushed up to her side and extended a hand out.

"Around Cynthia! Back around!" Morgan hollered.

"On it!"

The young princess tugged on the reins, and Emm responded. The loyal horse wheeled around and raced towards Severa.

Severa grit her teeth and rushed towards the cart. With a loud cry, she threw Lucina's limp body up to Owain and Morgan. The other two members of the Justice cabal caught Lucina, set her down inside the cart, then grabbed Severa's hand and hauled her inside.

"You're next, Lucky!" Gaius bellowed to me as he weaved between the four Risen enemies, shortsword lashing out at the enemy with the speed of a viper. He drew a dagger and drove it into the eye of one Risen, ducked beneath a wild swing that took the head off of that same Risen, then slashed his sword through the next Risen's knees.

I tore my gaze from the carnage, and sprinted towards Anna's cart. It rumbled towards me. I'd have to time this perfectly, because Cynthia clearly did not know how to slow the thing down. I heard Emm snort as the horse rushed past me. With the last strength I had in my arms, I held Anna out, and Owain caught her by the waist.

I twirled on my heel, expecting to see Morgan's outstretched hand. Instead, a Risen had broken away from Gaius and came charging at me. My eyes widened as I saw its rusted blade raise over its head, ready to chop me in half.

Instincts kicked in, honed over long, hard hours of training with Anna. I rolled, my small body somersaulting between the tall Risen's legs. My hand snapped to my lower back, and I drew my long dagger. Pain shot through my arms as I hacked into the Risen's hamstring, rendering the creature unable to walk as I severed the barely functioning muscle.

"Ha!" I cried triumphantly.

That triumph turned into a shrill yelp when a pair of hands grabbed me and spun me around.

"To the cart!" Gaius roared, shoving me forward.

The cart was making its last pass towards me and Gaius. How did I know it was the final run? Archers appeared along the Keep's battlements, and Aversa emerged from the main entrance, skin charred and eyes blazing with rage. Her white hair matted with black blood.

Morgan noticed her too. Immediately, her spellbook was open. Aversa launched a black ball of energy at the cart. Morgan muttered under her breath, then sent a whip of green wind out at Aversa's spell, smacking it out of the way.

Emm galloped past me, and I saw Owain's hand in front of me. I reached up and snatched his waiting palm. With strength that surprised me, the young swordsman yanked me into the cart. I landed in a heap on top of half open crates, a couple jars of soup, and poor Clucker's cage.

That damn chicken squawked, and I scowled.

"Shut up!" I snapped at the bird.

I shoved myself back to my feet, stepped over Anna and Lucina, and pushed past Owain. Cynthia snapped the reins, directing the cart towards the exit. Arrows started to fly at us. Two arrows pierced the cavass, coming dangerously close to hitting Anna and Lucina as they lay still on the cart floor.

"Cynthia!" Severa bellowed near the front, "Get Gaius!"

"I'm trying!" Cynthia cried back as she struggled with the reins.

The cart turned one more time. Gaius dispatched his last opponent, spun, and sprinted towards us. As he ran, Morgan grit her teeth and deflected a deadly ball of purple fire with a fire spell of her own. Another arrow zipped through the air, nicking my ear and narrowly missing Severa.

He was getting closer. I could feel the cart slowing in order for Gaius to catch up. He sprinted as fast as he could, and I reached a hand out to him. Morgan snarled, casting a counter attack to one of Aversa's spells. At that moment, Tharja emerged from the Keep. Her eyes narrowed, and Morgan's face paled.

"Oh no…"

I did not register what happened next. I grabbed Gaius's hand. My shoulder screamed in pain as I pulled him up into the cart. There was a flash of bright light. The sensation of extreme heat grazing my left hip made me utter a loud cry of pain. My legs gave out, and for some reason, Gaius felt a lot heavier.

Wet, hot, spit hit my face. I blinked, opened my eyes, and saw blood spurting from Gaius's mouth. His face looked as pale as a sheet.

"GAIUS!" Severa shrieked, shoving Owain out of her way as she moved to help me haul him into the cart.

"Cynthia, go!" Morgan shouted.

Cynthia did not reply. I heard her whimper, then snap the reins hard. Emm broke into full gallop, and we shot out of the Keep's gate.

Severa pulled me out of the way, and I fell like a sack of potatoes onto my rear. I blinked as the blood on my face dripped into my eyes. I reached up and wiped it away as best as I could, then reopened my eyes.  
I wished I hadn't.

Gaius lay there, head in Severa's lap as tears ran down the redhead's cheeks. His eyes were open, but unseeing. Blood dribbled from his parted lips, but the longer he lay there, the less came out. I failed to see what the problem really was, till I saw the gaping hole through his heart. A charred hole, with thin trails of smoke steaming up charred flesh and burnt fabric of his shirt.

It clicked. My brain reeled. My lips trembled and I tore my gaze from the terrible sight. I could hear Severa's pleading as I squeezed my eyes shut. She was begging Gaius to stay, begging for Naga to spare him, begging someone to do something. I grit my teeth and pressed a hand to my eyes. The pain I felt did not matter anymore. I couldn't focus on it anymore. Not when Severa's pleading turned to cursing and sobbing.

I knew we were out of the city when the wheels stopped rumbling, the cart stopped jostling, and we hit powdery snow on the road east, away from the city. We were free from the dead city. Away from the torture and death that threatened to claim us all inside of that gray, desolate place.

Anna and Lucina were alive, but-

I raised my gaze one more time. Severa had gone silent. Everyone was quiet. Anna and Lucina were asleep, and I was the only one daring to glance at the fallen Shepherd.

I couldn't say anything. I couldn't even think of anything. My mind, my body, my entire being, felt numb as I looked at the dead eyes of the first friend I made in this insane world. The man that did everything in his power to mentor me and prepare me for the dangers I was going to face. One of the most patient and fun people I ever had the pleasure of knowing…

_He's gone…_

**And chapter! The mission is complete. Lucina has been rescued, but at a heavy cost. The whirlwind is only starting now. Things are going to happen very quickly, and they are not going to be good for our heroes. Let's hope they can hang in there.**

**Also, I want to thank Narwahl Lord for his help on this chapter! If you haven't read his story, check it out! It's called **_**All the World's a Sale. **_**An excellent read in my opinion, and it can give you a break from my dark fic lol (it's tone is much lighter). **

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	18. Mixed Drinks about Feelings

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 18

Mixed Drinks about Feelings

Arena Ferox… still cold, still dreary, but now even more depressing. I stood in the shadows of one of the coliseum's mammoth pillars, vision overlooking the center arena, where champions once fought in thick powdery snow. Small puffs of snow fell down from the gray sky, blanketing the arena floor with another layer of cold, white carpet. In any other circumstances, it might have been a pretty sight.

Undisturbed snow has this dreamlike appearance to it. Ethereal and pure. A stark contrast to the snow I was used to seeing. Back home, snow lay in drifts and sheets like this for maybe an hour or two; then the exhaust fumes hit it. Then the salt from the plows mixed in, and what once sparkled like crystals turned to a grayish brown sludge along the curb. Very rarely did I get to see snow as pristine as this, and if I did not feel the way I did now, I probably would have appreciated it more.

I tucked my chin to my chest, a heavy sigh slipping from my chapped lips. My hands were shoved in my pockets. More than once, I thought about raising my arms to stretch them, then I recalled Libra's doctoral advice: "Do not do sharp movements for a few days. The tissues need to heal."

I winced when a blast of cold wind hit me, along with that morbid thought. My shoulders were just the latest injury I had sustained in the past few months. It felt scarier than the others, because now, I was getting used to this. I was getting used to life threatening situations where having torn rotator cuffs, an axe wound to the side, or a blown out knee, were best case scenarios. Back home, a simple broken bone was a major injury. Here, just getting a broken bone was a good thing. My throat bobbed as I swallowed hard.

_It was the best case scenario._

I could not help but utter a heavy sigh at that. My mind wandered back to the days following the Port Ferox incident, and our subsequent escape from that hell hole.

Cynthia drove Emm and the cart hard for several days, in a desperate attempt to escape Port Ferox. It had taken us almost five days and nights to reach Port Ferox from Arena Ferox. It took half that time getting back. Fear pushes humans beyond their boundaries. I recalled sleepless nights during that long, hard ride home. Nights of doing nothing but watching out for pursuing Risen, watching out for Anna and Lucina (both slipped in and out of consciousness regularly. None of us in the cart were trained healers, although Morgan, the only mage, did her best). The only other thing to do in the cart other than that, was stare at Gaius's lifeless body, wrapped up in an old rug Anna never managed to actually sell.

My jaw clenched as I recalled the glossy look Gaius's once bright eyes held when it happened. It was so quick. One moment, I had his hand in mine. I was pulling him up into the safety of Anna's cart so we all could make a quick escape home, triumphant rescuers and heroes. The next moment, his blood was on me, there was a hole in his chest, and Severa was screaming.

I grimaced, raised a trembling hand from my pocket, and wiped my mouth. As I did that, I heard a door open then close at the end of the corridor.

"Oh," Tiki stated as she exited Khan Flavia's chambers and noticed me, "I did not know you were here already, Samwise." She arched an eyebrow and quietly walked towards me.

I raised my gaze to her, "Y-yeah, well… an Exalt and Dragon summons would get me up and moving pretty quick."

Tiki gave me a gentle smile, "I'm sure it would." She paused beside me, both of us looking out to the field of unblemished snow at the center of the arena, "Before you go in there, how are you holding up?"

I scoffed a little, "Does that even need to be asked?"

Tiki gave me a puzzled look, "I suppose not, but I assumed you were not as sorrowful as the children were."

I sniffled a little but said nothing. Instead, I wiped a stray bead of snot from my nose and grimaced.

_Damn allergies… damn cold… damn this place._

Tiki frowned at me, "You may be good at hiding it Samwise, but I can sense you are troubled."

"Yeah well…" I worked my jaw back and forth as I caught myself before saying something I knew I'd regret. No sense in pissing off Dragon Jesus. That was a one way ticket to death, in my opinion. I sighed and leaned against the stone railing in front of me, small bars of powdery snow brushing off of it as my arms rested on top of the railing, "I um…" I ducked my head, "Didn't exactly grow up in a place where tears were acceptable, y'know."  
Tiki arched an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

I nodded, "Son of a soldier, that's me. No crying in a soldier's house, not according to my father." I snorted, "Doesn't mean I don't do it when no one's looking though." A heavy sigh made my shoulders sag, "Fuck…" I muttered, "I guess it would be seen as pretty bad that I haven't… I dunno, mourned? I mean, I've never really had to mourn anyone so I wouldn't even know how to go about it."

Tiki gave me a sympathetic look. As another freezing wind blew in, she shivered and wrapped a red cloak tighter over her shoulders, "Everyone grieves in their own way, Samwise. Gaius was close with the children. Most of them looked at him as an Uncle, as far as I am aware. They knew him since they were born, so they would possess far more sorrow." She gave my shoulder a gentle pat, and I had to admire Libra's work. It did not hurt one bit, "Do not fret about it."

I nodded, "Alright."

"How's Anna?"

I pursed my lips. Anna had regained consciousness last night, a day after we made it back to Port Ferox. Again, Libra was a damn miracle worker, as was Exalt Lissa and Lady Maribelle. Those three personally saw to both Anna and Lucina, and now both were on the mend. Anna woke first, but despite waking up, she did not say a single word to anyone. She simply laid in bed, ate food when it was brought to her, and rested. I did try to sit with her last night when she woke up, but when my attempts at talking to her went nowhere, I gave her her space.

So my response to Tiki's question was an uncertain shrug.

Tiki's brow creased, "Well… she'll get well soon. Then we'll see how-"

The doors on the opposite end of the Khan's corridor slammed open.

"Anna what are you-"

"Shut your mouth, Frederick, before I shut it for you!" Anna snarled, not even bothering to look over her shoulder as the tall knight strode after her.

"You should really be resting still."

"I'll have plenty of time to rest when I'm dead." Anna growled back.

She paused alongside me and Tiki. Frederick moved to try and get Anna back down to the barracks, but Tiki waved him off. With a respectful nod, the Knight Commander turned and entered the Khan's chambers. Once he was gone, Anna glared daggers at Tiki.

"A debriefing without me?" She snorted then glanced at me, "You were just gonna walk all over him."

Anna pivoted, winced as her wounded legs throbbed, then stormed towards the Khan's chambers.

"We would do no such thing, Anna." Tiki protested, her voice stern as she quietly walked after the fuming merchant. One of Tiki's hands motioned for me to follow, and I did.

The Khan's chambers were sweltering. A fire roared in the fireplace opposite of the Khan Flavia's bed. Unlike the first time I had been in here, Khan Flavia was at least sitting upright. But she looked noticeably thinner than before. Her dark cheeks were pulled tight over a gaunt face. Her eyes looked sunken, and she needed several pillows to keep her upright. I knew sickness when I saw it. Her wounds might have been slowly healing, but she was very ill. Not a good sign for one of the greatest warriors in this world.

Exalt Lissa occupied a chair near the fire. Her healing staff leaned up against the armrest of the bearskin covered chair. Her head rested on one hand as her eyes struggled to remain open. This was the first time I had seen the Exalt look visibly exhausted. Dark circles surrounded her half lidded, bright, blue eyes. When she saw me, Anna, and Tiki enter, she simply yawned and waved to us.

"You would absolutely do that, Tiki." Anna snarled over her shoulder. Frederick shut the door behind me with a quiet click. THat click was followed by a harsh round of coughing from Khan Flavia.

"What would she do?" Flavia asked, voice hoarse and quiet.

Tiki sighed as Anna began pacing in front of the fire. At that moment, Lissa realized Anna was, in fact, in the room, up and moving. She jerked upright in her chair, and moved to grab her healing staff, but Anna held up a finger, freezing Lissa in place.

"Only reason I'm not yelling at you is because you helped save my life, and Lucina's life." Anna fumed, "But all of you should have never called a briefing with Sam without me."

I frowned, "I can take-"

"Can you handle a Manakete, an Exalt, and an ornery Khan?" Anna asked, cutting me off as she spun around to glare at me.

I opened, then closed my mouth, "I um… well… probably not."

"That's what I thought." Anna nodded, "Now, before we get to the assinine questions of this whole thing, I have a very relevant one. What the fuck is Tharja doing alive?"

Lissa's eyes widened, "She's what!?"

Khan Flavia coughed hard, "Tharja… oh I remember her! She was Robin's stalker." A wheezing laugh left her lungs, "Weird girl."

"Not weird anymore." Anna growled, "More like a traitor, since she's the one that dealt the killing blow!"

I swallowed hard. I could faintly recall what happened. It was so fast when it happened. Gaius had my hand, he was almost in the cart, then my hairs stood on end, a blast of white hot heat ran by me, and Gaius was dead in the cart.

"It could have been Aversa." I pointed out.

That name made Lissa go white. She ran a hand over her forehead, "What the hell did you all walk into?"

"I don't fucking know." Anna snarled. Her pacing stopped, and her gaze leveled with Tiki, who remained eerily silent as she lingered near the windows of the Khan's chambers, "I'm sure she does though."

Lissa spun around in her seat, "Tiki?" She furrowed her brow, puzzled, "I'm not sure what-" She shook her head, "Alright, we need to back things up and start from the beginning."

"Screw that." Anna snapped. She folded her arms and waited for Tiki to reply.

Tiki uttered a heavy sigh, "Yes… I knew Tharja was alive."

Lissa's jaw fell open, "You-you-"

"I'd excuse myself, but I can't fucking move." Flavia muttered. She coughed and nodded at Frederick, "I wish I could eat something, cause this is gonna be interesting."

Lissa rose from her seat. She stumbled a moment, clearly trying to wake herself up fully. Once she managed to catch her balance, she wheeled around to face an impassive Tiki.

"Alright, forget starting from the beginning then." Lissa cleared her throat as she stood between Anna and Tiki, "Let's um… clear the air on this first."

I remained absolutely silent as I stood off to the side, near the door. Frederick gave me a sideways glance, that I returned. Neither of us were sure what exactly to do in this situation, other than let Tiki explain herself, and allow Anna to get the answers she wanted. Lissa could be the mediator in this case. There was no way in hell I was getting in between Anna and someone she was pissed at.

Tiki drew in a deep breath, "Do you recall Themis?"

"Yes, the battle where we all almost died, including Tharja." Anna reminded Tiki. For the first time, I saw Tiki avert her eyes from Anna. She glanced out the window at the massive army camp surrounding the Arena, "Care to explain her inexplicable survival?"

Tiki drew in a deep breath, "It was during the last day or two of the siege, but the when doesn't really matter. What matters is this: I gave her an assignment: to infiltrate Grima's ranks and report back whatever intelligence she could regarding his plans."

Lissa's eyes widened as disbelief flashed over her face, "You sent Tharja in as a spy? Then you allowed everyone, including Henry and Noire, to believe she was dead?"

Tiki pressed her lips into a thin line, "What I was thinking-"

She was cut off by a small ping of metal hitting metal. Tiki furrowed her brow, ears twitching as she tried to locate the sound. I turned my head and saw Anna removing the ruby dragon brooch from her chest. She held it in her hands a moment, then tossed it on the table in front of the fireplace.

"I expect my boat to be ready soon."

Without another word, Anna stormed by me, threw the door open, and marched out, her step faltering a little as she entered the cold corridor. I saw her hang her head a moment. Her hands trembled at her sides, then she raised her head and continued marching till she left the corridor completely. Finally, the door closed, cutting off my sight.

A heavy silence hung in the air. The crackling of the tinder in the fireplace rang in my ears with small pops. I drew in a deep breath, uncertain of what to do right now. Part of me wanted to follow Anna, see what was wrong. Well… obviously I knew what was wrong, she was pissed with Tiki. The why seemed obvious too.

My eyes landed on the brooch resting on the table. The ruby dragon sparkled in the firelight while the gold surrounding it shimmered. Lissa did not pay it any mind, neither did Frederick or Flavia, but I certainly noticed. Anna nearly killed me for snatching that off her person a month or so ago. It was the one possession I knew for a fact she would never sell, never even part with. Why would she take it off and leave it now?

I flicked my eyes back over to Tiki. To my surprise, she was not glancing out the window, or looking at the door to follow Anna's exit. Her emerald eyes were glued to the brooch sitting on the table. I noticed a small tear start to dribble from the corner of her right eye, but she quickly sniffed and wiped it with her thumb.

"I can explain-" Tiki drew in a deep breath as she calmed herself, "I can explain everything in depth later, Lissa."

"Oh, you will." Lissa replied, drawing on an authoritative voice I did not think was possible for her, "And it will be a long, drawn out discussion."

She sank back down in her seat, clearly exhausted. One of her dainty hands ran over her forehead before resting over her eyes. She gulped and uttered a small groan.

"Frederick, while me and Tiki are busy with Sam, could you please grab me a vulnerary or something. I'm feeling nauseous."

Frederick bowed slightly, then left the room, leaving me alone with the main leaders of this world. A lump formed in my throat at that thought. They were going to look to me for a recounting of what happened in Port Ferox. Me, scatterbrained Sam, expected to deliver accurate intelligence on the shitshow that was my rescue attempt.

_We really are desperate._

Lissa let her hand fall from her face. Her lips sputtered as she exhaled.

"Naga above, this is just…" She trailed off, then glanced over at me, "Take a seat. Get comfortable."

Normally, I would have said I was fine standing up. Sitting down and talking means you have to actually engage in the discussion. Remain standing, and you can keep yourself on the fringes of that discussion. Listen in, but not actually have to contribute anything. However, when royalty tells you to take a seat, you better take a seat.

I moved towards the fireplace, sat down on a seat covered with a deer hide, and let my right ankle rest on my left knee as I tried to get comfortable. Only for my legs to let me know how sore they really were, which made me transition to just sitting with both feet on the ground, with my hands folded in my lap.

"So uh… how does this work?" I asked, gaze shifting between Lissa and Tiki.

Lissa winced as she started to massage her right temple, "Well… just um, give us your telling of what happened. Start from the beginning."  
I raised an eyebrow, "Like, from when we left here or from-"

"When you arrived at Port Ferox." Flavia cut in, her voice rising from a hoarse whisper to a harsh rasp, "Get to that already." She sank back into her pillows, "Fucking don't have all day. Could croak any damn moment."

"I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen, and please don't jinx it." Lissa replied to the Khan. She rolled her eyes at me, "I've been dealing with this," she whispered, "since midnight. Gave Libra a break, and I regret it now. He has way more patience than I do."

"I heard that, Exalted one!" Flavia rasped, a hint of teasing in her voice, "You enjoy my company, and you know it."

"Mmmm…" Lissa grimaced, "Should've asked Frederick to bring a bottle of firewine too."

"Vulneraries and Firewine don't mix well." Tiki pointed out, "You'll only feel sicker."

"I'll hardly feel anything if I drink enough." Lissa replied with a snort. I uttered a quiet chuckle at that. Lissa cleared her throat and gestured to me, "Alright, arrival at Port Ferox. Go."

I nodded, "Okay um… well… first Anna went in…"

* * *

I closed the Khan's doors behind me as I exited Flavia's quarters. To my great shock, it only took me about an hour to do a full telling of what happened in Port Ferox. So much had happened in that short amount of time that I thought it would take me much longer. However, the pertinent details were what they all cared about. How did we figure out Lucina was alive in the keep (which I did not know the answer to, I was going based on assumption on that one)? How did I make contact with Gaius? How did we manage to infiltrate the city, the keep, and what was our exit plan? What happened inside of the keep?

… what happened inside of the keep.

That was the part of the debriefing I struggled with the most. Not because I could not remember what happened, but because I vividly recalled every detail I was awake for. Remembering what happened in Port Ferox's keep; being tied up in chains and subjected to torture, watching helplessly as Anna was tortured, the revelation that Tharja was in fact alive, and the timely arrival of Gaius and Severa, all replayed in my mind once again. It made a shiver run up and down my spine.

_How many times have I been that close to death since I got here? _I wondered to myself as my footsteps wandered away from the path to the doors on the other end of the corridor and instead carried me over to the stone railing along the side, overlooking the arena center. My arms rested on the railing and I bowed my head, _Let's see… there was Happy nearly eating me, then the ax wound, then Frederick, then Anna's brooch, _A disbelieving laugh rasped from my lips, _I've nearly died at least five times since I got here. _

And for the first time in my life, I witnessed someone die. I drew in a deep breath of the frozen air and watched as it misted out of my mouth in a puff of white fog. I still had a hard time processing it. I didn't even know how to process Gaius's death. It weighed heavily on me, I could feel that, but I wasn't sure what to do about it. Do I cry? Do I wail? Do I sit in silence? Or do I drink myself into oblivion?

_The last one sounds appealing right about now. _I thought, _Might dull the memory a bit too._

The door opened and closed. Tiki stepped out, but not with as much purpose as before. She looked rattled. For the first time since I met the Manakete, she did not appear regal. She looked spooked and anxious. Bags sat under her eyes, and they lacked their usual emerald glow. She quietly moved towards my side and leaned up against the railing too.

We were quiet a moment, both of us taking in the sight of snow falling in light puffs, and the general sound of a military camp behind us.

"I guess this is the thinking spot?" I said out of nowhere. I meant to just think it, but sometimes my tongue goes before my brain, then bad stuff happens.

Tiki offered a pained smirk, "I suppose it is." Her hands rested on the railing, fingers sinking into soft powder. I could see faint trails of steam swirling up from her fingertips.

_Is her skin melting it that fast!?_

She removed one hand from the railing, revealing soaking wet snow where her palm once sat. As I stared at that spot, wide eyed, she reached into her a pocket within her cloak, and withdrew Anna's brooch. She rotated it in her fingers a moment, then held it out to me.

"Would you please take this."

I eyed the brooch warily, "Uh… is it safe?"

Tiki quietly chuckled, "It is. Anna left it, so," her throat bobbed, "obviously she doesn't want it anymore."

I furrowed my brow as I observed Tiki. She refused to make eye contact, instead choosing to glance out at the arena as her outstretched hand trembled. I eyed the brooch one more time, before gently taking it from her hand. The cold metal bit into my fingertips as I grasped it.

"Do you want me to give it back to her or-"

Tiki shook her head, "She… she won't take it back."

I gave Tiki a confused look. This brooch meant the world to Anna, otherwise she would not have chased me down like a dog back in Ylisstol over it. So why was Tiki so broken up about it? I turned it over in my hands, feeling the rubies running along my fingertips.

"I mean, I could try." I suggested, "Anna's pissed with you, not me."

Tiki gave me a grateful smile, "I wouldn't ask you to, and I already know how it would go." She uttered a sigh, "Anna won't take it back, not after what just happened." She tucked her chin, fingers clenching tight around the stone railing in front of us. I swore I could see some tears bubbling in her eyes, "Take good care of it, Sam. It means a lot to-" A shuddering breath left her lips, "It means a lot to both of us."

Before I could ask anymore questions, Tiki spun on her heels and marched back to the Khan's quarters. Lissa still had a mountain of questions for her regarding Tharja's inexplicable survival and secret mission that had apparently gone horribly awry. As she opened the door, I heard Flavia's harsh coughs before they were muffled again by the door shutting.

I pursed my lips, turning my gaze away from the door and down to the brooch nestled in my hands. I turned it over between my fingers, feeling the cold metal brushing against my equally frozen skin. As I held the brooch, the gold glinting in what little sunlight the Feroxi sky allowed, a quiet laugh left my lips.

"What do ya know." I muttered before glancing up at that same gray sky, "I ended up with it anyways, Gaius."

My throat tightened up. I sucked in a deep breath as my subconscious told me not to shed any tears, even as that crazy memory of Gaius laughing his ass off at my meager attempt to steal this very brooch replayed in my mind. It was crazy to think about now; that same thief who laughed at my failure, also taught me everything I needed to make that heist nearly a success. Anna might have taught me how to fight (mostly), but Gaius was the one who took a chance on me in the first place. Now, I had the object of the last test he gave me in my hands.

A stray tear dripped down my cheek, and I wiped it away before it could freeze. A sniffle rocked my nose and I sucked in a sharp breath of cold Feroxi air. Silently, I pocketed the brooch and turned to leave the Arena.

_If I'm not gonna cry, I'm gonna do the next best thing. _I opened the door to the stairs, _Get piss drunk._

* * *

My shivering hand wrapped around the brass doorknob of the barracks door, and slipped on the crust of ice that had built up along it. The small puffs of snow had turned into a full blown ice storm by the time I reached the base of the massive Arena, which made me a bit upset. By a bit upset, I mean that I was saying all manner of curses under my breath, most of which I knew none of the kids inside of the barracks would know the meaning of.

_That is if any of them are in there._

My hand slipped on the doorknob again, and I snarled, "Fucking doorknob. Piece of shit brass, fucking ice, why can't I be one a goddamn beach-"

The door opened from the other side, and Severa looked at me with raw eyes. She sniffed and leaned against the doorway, blocking me from entering. I shivered, but said nothing to the redhead.

"Here to drink too?" She asked.

I raised my brow, then glanced past her. All of the kids were in there. Several stuck very close to Yarne, who lay curled up in front of the fire, clutching something close to his chest. Throughout this terrible situation, I had forgotten all about the timid Taguel. Gaius was his father, and he was gone now. Yarne was an orphan, just like in the game.

My gut tightened up at that thought. What could I have done to help out? What if Gaius got in the cart first? Would he still be alive?

I shook my head, shaking those thoughts from my mind. Right now, I needed to be strong for the kids. As Anna once told me, I was young, but I wasn't one of the Shepherd's children. She expected me to act mature, and to be an example for them. And, in cases like this, I assumed that meant I had to be the strong adult for the shattered teenagers in the barracks common room.

Still, I needed a drink.

"Yeah." I croaked.

Severa snorted, "You're in luck, Brady found an entire barrel of corn whiskey."

My eyes widened. Corn whiskey, now that was something I knew, and it was potent.

_Oh, we are getting trashed tonight._

Severa stepped out of my way, and I stepped into the barracks. A blast of ice and snow followed me inside, making the two kids closest to the door- Inigo and Kjelle- shiver. I whispered an apology to the two solemn teens as I shut the door and kicked snow from my boots.

I was not used to the barracks being quiet, at least not this kind of quiet. There was a peaceful kind of quiet to the Shepherds's barracks back in Ylisstol, where the soothing crackle of the fire often lulled me to sleep. Especially since I was that barracks's only resident. The quiet inside of the Arena barracks was an icy, cold, desperate one. The kind that sent knots of stress straight to my neck.

I pulled a seat out at the little wood bar counter. Nah stood behind the bar counter, apparently the only one not indulging in the barrel of whiskey. She raised her brow as she briefly glanced up at me from the tome she was reading.

"Glass?" The petite, green haired girl asked.

I nodded, "Please."

Nah closed her book and quietly poured me a half full glass of corn whiskey. I could smell the clear liquor before I even raised it to my lips. Potent stuff, straight gasoline.

_It'll do._

I quickly downed the entire glass. My eyes bulged from my skull as the liquid burned down my esophagus then settled in my gut like cinders. A dry cough shot from my throat and I set the glass down in front of me.

"Fuck that's-" I exhaled and coughed again, "That's some harsh stuff there."

"Good to forget things with." Severa said as she swirled a half full glass, "This is number two for me."

I nodded, "You gonna drink it?"

Severa grimaced before glancing back at the other kids sitting in the common space, away from the bar counter. I followed her gaze.

Inigo and Kjelle sat at a tall table near the door, acting as guards to the barracks. I could see Kjelle kneading the hilt of a long dagger against her hip while her other hand was wrapped tight around her own glass. Inigo nursed a drink in front of him while he kept his head bowed.

Cynthia sat on the sofa, her head nestled against Morgan's shoulder as the mage read her spellbook. The Ylissean Princess had fresh tear stains on her cheeks and under her eyes. To my surprise, she had an empty glass in her lap.

Brady lounged in a chair next to Noire and Laurent. Noire glanced nervously around before taking a quick sip of her drink, while Laurent seemed much more interested in studying what the alcohol was doing to all of us, rather than indulging in it himself. Brady already had a dark red tint to his cheeks, clearly well past his first (or even second) drink. Owain sat on the floor next to Yarne as the Taguel rested in a tight ball in front of the roaring fire. The usually boisterous teen was rendered silent by the somber evening, and he was one of the few not nursing a drink of his own. Finally, Gerome sat alone near the hall that led to the bunkrooms. I could not tell how he was feeling, due to the dark mask over his face. But I had a feeling he was handling this situation with the same silent brooding that he usually had.

Severa furrowed her brow as Cynthia sniffled. Morgan turned a page in her book, prompting Cynthia to sniffle again.

"They're all dealing with it in their own way." She informed me, "Some of us like this," She gestured at me with her glass, "Others try to act like nothing happened."

A dark glare passed through Severa as she stared at an oblivious Morgan. The sound of more liquor pouring into my glass caught my attention, and I relegated Severa's scowl to the back of my mind. I eyed the clear liquid in my glass with a mix of thankfulness and dread, because damn does it hurt going down.

"Hey Nah, what else you got back there?"

The green haired Manakete flicked her eyes up from her book, "Nothing alcoholic. I do have some," She glanced beneath the bar counter, "berry juice."

"May I have some please." I asked.

Nah placed a small jar of the dark purple juice on the counter. I popped the lid and poured some into my drink, turning the clear liquid a light, violet color. I took a small sip of my drink, winced as it still burned, but it did not burn as badly.

"Better."

"Really?" Severa remarked, brow raised.

I gestured to the juice, "You're welcome to try." I took another sip, "As close to a mixed drink as I'm gonna get around here." I glanced around the barracks again, and noticed a distinct lack of another red head in the common room. As Severa poured some juice into her glass, then brought it up for a tentative sip, I turned back to her, "You know where Anna's at?"

Severa winced as her drink slipped down her throat. A harsh rasp erupted from her lips as she set her drink down, making the glass clink against the wood counter top.

"I-" She wheezed then looked at me, "Gawds, it's still bad."

I snorted at that, "More tolerable though."

"Barely." Severa croaked before taking another sip and wincing again, "Why do you adults drink this stuff? Firewine is way better."

I shrugged, "Not sure. And why are you asking me? I don't recall my drink of choice."

_Captain Morgan with Coke, but in medieval fantasy fun time land, those don't exist. _I sipped my drink and smacked my lips as I got used to the corn liquor, _I wonder if I can make pop here at some point?_

"Right, amnesia." Severa muttered, she rolled her eyes, "Irritating shit."

"Language." I chided.

"Fuck off." She grunted before taking another sip. She sighed and nodded her head to the hallway, "Anna's in the bunkroom. Stormed in here not long ago, took a bottle of firewine with her, and told us that if we disturbed her, she would try to pawn us off to the nearest dark mage looking for a cadaver."

"Uh…"

"Which of course made Yarne and Noire paranoid as all hell since Henry is nearby." Severa continued, "Given that all of us are still in here, safe to say the threat worked."

A shiver ran up my spine at the thought of Henry. My first meeting with that insane Dark Mage went about as poorly as it could possibly go.

_Add that to the near-death experiences list. _I thought before grabbing my drink and getting up from my seat.

Severa swiveled in her seat as I made my way to the hall.

"That threat extends to you too." She hollered after me.

"I'm aware." I mumbled back.

I paused beside Gerome, who gave me a glare, then returned to his brooding.

_As friendly as ever. _I thought as I continued down the hall.

Once I reached the door to the girl's bunkroom, I paused. I could not hear anything on the other side of the door, and there was not much light coming through the cracks of the door either. Perhaps Anna was asleep already? If that was the case, then all I needed to do was peak in, confirm she was asleep, then dip back out before Anna was the wiser.

I gently cracked the door open. A small candle burned on the little table beside Anna's cot. I saw her lying down on her side, facing away from the door. She still wore her usual traveling gear. A patchwork shirt made of faded brown and yellow fabrics that were much more vibrant at one point in time. A brown cloak over her shoulders that lacked a hood. And simple leather pants meant for protecting her against the harsh bumps along the road while riding in her cart. Even her boots, crusted with a few specks of still melting ice, remained on her feet, soaking the foot of her bed with water. A bottle of firewine was also on the table beside her, almost empty.

_Asleep, okay, that's good. _I thought as my hand drifted to my pocket, where the brooch rested. Perhaps this was how I could get it back to her. Just place it by her bedside and-

The door hinges creaked, and I cursed my bad luck.

Anna tensed on the bed. She uttered a small, irritated groan, then turned over onto her other side. I froze as her eyes glared at me. My breath lodged in my throat when I saw the dagger sitting in her right hand, the flat of the blade laying flush against her sheets.

_Damn, she really is backing up the threat._

"I um…" I gulped as she glared at me, candlelight casting long shadows over her face, "I came to check on you."

Her brow furrowed. My feet felt stuck in place, like they were lodged in cement. I half expected her to surge from her cot and place that blade against my neck, demanding I get out. Instead, she sighed then rested her head on her hand.

"Get in here already before the kids think I'm being nice." She grumbled, a slight slur in her voice.

"O-oh I um-" I quickly shuffled in, closing the door behind me with a small click.

Anna forced herself to sit upright in her bed. In the candlelight, I saw her wince and reached for her right thigh. Her hand pressed against the spot where Aversa's dagger punctured the muscle. She hissed as she propped herself up against the wall, while I quietly made my way over, aiming to take a seat on the bunk to her left.

Just as I moved to sit, she shook her head.

"Wouldn't sit there." She told me, "Severa wouldn't take kindly to it."

I blinked, "Oh well um…" I moved around her bunk over to the other one, only for her to click her tongue.

"You want to get beaten up by Kjelle?"

I scoffed back, "Is this a girl's only room?"

Anna raised her brow, "Uh… yeah."

I opened and closed my mouth, "You know, I did genuinely forget I'm in the girl's room."

To my surprise, Anna snickered. She rested her head back against the cold stone wall, then nodded at the side of her bed, "Sit down already."

"Uh… okay?"

I sank down onto her lumpy cot. As I sat, she reached for her bottle of firewine, popped the cork out of it, and took a long swing. She then offered the last few sips to me, but I declined, raising my own glass in response. Her eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?"

"Brady is resourceful." I replied.

"Ugh," Anna sank back against the wall, "That stuff will send me into blissful oblivion." She glanced at the door, "But then I have to go out there to get any."

I nodded in understanding, "Don't want to deal with the questions?"

"Nope." Anna replied with a pop of her lips. She set the bottle of firewine between her legs and puffed out a breath, "Probably wouldn't be good for me anyways. I'm already very, very drunk."

I raised my brow, "Don't look like it."

"Oh, I am." Anna sighed raising an unsteady finger, "I think there's two… no… one and half of you right now."

My eyes widened, "Okay yeah, you're a bit drunk."

Anna gave me a small, pained smile, "Yeah, perhaps a bit." She rested her head against the wall again, "Well… you came in the check up on me?"

"Right well," I cleared my throat, "I um… after everything that happened in Port Ferox, and in Khan Flavia's room I-"

The mention of Khan Flavia's room caused Anna's face to harden significantly.

"Don't tell me the lizard bitch sent you to talk to me." She growled.

I paled, "N-no! In fact, she pretty much told me you wouldn't be interested in hearing anything she had to say."

"Well, she'd be right." Anna snarled, "I've had enough of her, and her big picture planning." She scoffed, "Fucking acting like her damned mother right now, I swear…"  
I narrowed my eyes, "Her mother acts like what exactly?"

"A fucking god, what do you think?" Anna remarked before raising her eyes to the ceiling, exasperated. Whether with me or with herself, I did not know, "Naga damn it, you don't know about Naga, do you? Well, long story short, Naga fucked someone, popped out Tiki, and then went to go do what gods do."

"What do gods do?" I asked.

"Leave people who worship them to die, like us little fools here in this icy hellhole." Anna said, not even trying to hide the scorn in her voice, "Tiki used to despise how her mom acted. Hands off when it comes to human affairs and all. Missing the important details in favor of big picture thinking. Then this damned war started, and now Tiki is acting just like her." Anna snorted, "Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

I opened my mouth to reply, but quickly snapped it shut when Anna continued.

"I mean… gods, she really made Tharja fake her death, go on a secret spying assignment, all so she could figure out what Grima was up to? Did she never even consider that Tharja, a former Grimleal, would turncoat!? Oh wait, she probably did, which is why she failed to tell Lissa and Flavia." I came close to jumping out of my seat as she took one last swing from her firewine then threw the bottle as hard as she could against the far wall, "Gods I hate that woman!"

I decided it was best to stay quiet as Anna buried her head in her hands, shoulders shuddering as I watched her cry for the first time. It wasn't loud crying, or wailing. I wasn't even sure if she was shedding any tears. But I could hear her sniffle, heard her breath hitch in her throat every few seconds as she allowed the emotions she closely guarded come bursting to surface.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Fucking- if Tiki had just said something, maybe Gaius would be alive. We at least would have known about the possibility of Tharja turning traitor. I thought-" She swallowed hard, "Thought we grew beyond stupid shit like this."

Her raw, red eyes turned to me again, "Look at this." She gestured at herself, "I'm a damn mess, aren't I?" She sniffed leaning back against the wall, "Go on, say something already, you half brained twit."

I frowned at that, "I'd consider myself a full brained twit, thank you very much."  
My response must've caught her off guard, because her eyes widened and pained chuckles bubbled up from her lungs, clashing with her sniffles.

"Naga damn it, Sam." She pulled some of her red hair away from her forehead, "You've got no idea about anything do you?"

She uttered an exasperated sound which was abruptly cut off when I reached into my pocket and withdrew the brooch. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the jewelry in my hand.

"Tiki told me not to bother trying." I muttered, "Said you wouldn't take it back."

"Damn right, I won't." Anna snarled, folding her arms over her chest, "The dragon can keep it."

I drew back, my mouth falling open as a sense of knowing came over me, "A family member didn't give this to you, did they?"

Anna's eyes blazed dangerously, and I feared I crossed an invisible line. I could see her right hand tapping against the dagger lying on her bed, by her side, as she glared daggers at me. I swallowed nervously, and felt one of my legs starting to bounce.

"Sorry I didn't mean to say that." I said, looking down at my boots, "Just that… it looked like it meant a lot to Tiki, and I know it means a lot to you. Put two and two together and-"

"It meant a lot to both of us, yeah." Anna croaked. Before I could react, she lunged at me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting a dagger to touch my skin. Instead, I felt her jerk my crude mixed drink from my hand. She put it to her lips and gulped it down. Once it was gone, she yanked the glass from her lips and slammed it down on the table beside her, "What the fuck was in that!?"

"Berry juice."

"B-berry-" Anna eyed me strangely then glanced at the glass, "Why did it taste so good?"

I uttered a quiet laugh, "Stuff like that's common where I come from. Mixed drink, that's what it's called. Berry juice is not my preferred choice, neither is corn liquor, but beggars can't be choosers."

"You're right, they can't." She replied, a slight smirk on her lips. She shifted in her seat, rustling the sheets beneath her. A wince crossed her features, and her left hand reached for her calf this time. I gave her a concerned look, which she waved off, "Don't worry about it. It's just a scratch. I've had…" She trailed off a moment. Her shoulders sagged and drew in a deep breath, "Y'know what, I haven't had worse. Sam, I was pretty sure we were going to die. I was pretty sure I was going to get skinned alive like-" Her throat bobbed, "like Gregor."

I saw pain flash through her eyes, and quickly searched for a topic to switch to.

"So, you and Tiki?"

_Good choice dumbass. Switch from death to that other raw subject. Might as well get your ass kicked by your own foot._

Anna furrowed her brow at me, "You're not very good at this sorta thing, are you?"

I sighed, "That obvious?"

"Painfully." Anna nodded back. She took a deep breath, her eyes darting to the brooch still in my grasp, "I'm not taking it back. Gaius's death, Tharja's betrayal… that was the last straw for me." She leaned forward, "Tiki gave me that brooch a long time ago." A wistful look crossed her face, "Y'know, our relationship has kinda come full circle now that I think about it. We started off hating each other, grew close after a certain someone hitched his wagon to someone else, and now, thanks to this war, we hate each other again."

Even drunk, she guarded her feelings. Growing close could mean any number of things. It could mean they became close business partners, best friends, lovers? My cheeks heated up a little at that last thought. A blush I moved to hide by averting my face from her a moment, pretending to glance around the room.

Anna chuckled quietly. She rested back against the wall, and started leaning to the side as the alcohol really started to hit her.

"Y'know what, Sam?"

"What?"

Anna closed her eyes and shook her head, "I hate this war. I really do. Used to be, when a war happened, there were profits galore. I could jack up armor and arms prices like you wouldn't believe. But this war… I allowed it all to become too personal. Only got hurt in the end." She opened her eyes as she continued leaning, but didn't seem to notice, until finally, her entire body sagged to the side.

I managed to lunge over and catch her just before she hit the table beside her. A round of pained, dry laughs rasped out of her lungs as I gently propped her back up, then decided to help her lie back down on her side.

"Wow…" Anna remarked as I moved to get her boots off, "I'm really, really gone now." She raised her head to look at me as I moved to one of the unoccupied beds and grabbed its sheets, "Why'd you let me take your drink?"

I snorted, "You didn't give me much of a choice."

I threw the sheets over her and she curled up into a tight ball beneath them. Her hand sank into the lone pillow she had. I quietly reached over to the table and plucked the glass from it as her eyes started to flutter. As I drew back, I palmed the brooch, turned it over in my hand so that the dragon faced upright, then placed it quietly on the table next to her.

Anna didn't seem to notice, her eyes were already closed. I gave her a sympathetic smile, then turned on my heel to leave. When I reached the door, Anna's voice piped up in a slurring whisper one more time.

"Hey Sam." She rolled over and looked at me with one eye, "You're a good guy. Not many of those exist nowadays."

I gave her a small smile, "I try." I replied before exiting the room and letting her sleep off the firewine and corn whiskey.

I stood in the dark hallway, back to the door, for a moment. I could hear the kids back in the common room. They finally started chatting with each other again. Hushed whispers mostly, but it was good to hear them speaking instead of silently mourning Gaius. I knew Gaius wouldn't want them completely down in the dumps for him. He'd probably demand that they keep their chins up, while at the same time, asking them to hide his stash of candy.

I laughed to myself, then heard footsteps approaching me. Severa stumbled down the hall, barely able to stand up straight.

"That…" She mumbled, leaning up against the wall, "Whatever that drink is, was good." She yawned, "I need sleep." She shoved me out of the way of the door. As she pushed it open, she froze, "Oh…" She reached into a pocket and tossed me a key with a note, "We went through Gaius's stuff. That key had your name on it."

_My name?_

"Don't ask, cause I don't know." Severa muttered.

Severa rubbed her forehead and groaned a little as she entered the girl's bunkroom. She shut the door behind her, leaving me alone in the hall again. I furrowed my brow and looked down at the simple key and note. Sure enough, my name was scribbled onto the scrap of paper. It looked like chicken scratch, but I could make out the word 'Lucky' on it.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the note. I quickly read the note, laughed to myself, and pocketed the key.

I glanced up at the ceiling, "Thanks Gaius."

My hand tapped the key through the pocket. I yawned, suddenly aware of how tired I was. As I reached for the guy's bunkroom door across the hall, I chuckled again.

"Don't worry buddy." I muttered, opening the door, "I'll share the lollipops."

**And chapter! Some backstory has been revealed, even if it is only a small tidbit. I'm not gonna give you guys the whole thing yet, where's the fun in that when I can keep leaving little bread crumbs regarding the pasts of our characters. Honestly, I have a lot of fun writing the future versions of the Awakening cast. It's fun putting a unique spin on them, like how jaded Anna is, or how seemingly aloof Tiki has become. Makes for fun interactions. Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**


	19. What a Lovely Day

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 19

What a Lovely Day

My dreams have always been weird. There was this one time, when I was still in high school, I dreamt that my principle was replaced by a sheep dog. I then found out later in the dream, that the principle was in fact the sheep dog. Even spoke like the guy and everything. Not exactly sure what I ate the night before that, but it probably had something to do with that strange sleep. Needless to say, I am not very accustomed to serious dreams, or nightmares. I don't like them, and when I get the feeling one is about to happen, I try to wake up.

I did not get that chance this time. As soon as my eyes shut, I returned to a place I never wanted to see again.

Port Ferox looked even darker in my head than it did in real life. The shadows were deeper, darker, and more menacing. The cold had a sharper bite. It felt like sharp fangs digging into my bones. Grabbing hold of my body and tearing through the skin like an icy dagger. It made me shiver uncontrollably.

Unfortunately for me, I had zero control over anything. The torture replayed in my mind, but only far more twisted. The knife Aversa wielded was larger, and more jagged. Anna would scream in agony every time the dagger was dragged through her flesh. I could hear skin and muscles tearing, echoing through my skull in a sickening, stomach twisting song. A reverberating wail that echoed in my mind and made me squeeze my eyes shut, only for the sound of cart wheels rumbling beneath me made me jerk awake.

Gaius was sprinting towards the cart, and I had my hand outstretched to reel him in. I could see him reaching for me. Then it happened again. A flash of light, blinded me. I squeezed my eyes shut, felt intense heat graze my hip, then felt blood splatter against my face. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Gaius staring at me, which was not what happened.

He had death's stare, and was still in my grasp. Then, to my horror, the corners of his mouth turned upright. A sickening grin crossed his bloody lips, and his eyes blazed bright.

"_Hi Lucky."_

* * *

I shot upright in my bed. Ragged breaths rushed in and out of my lungs, and I could see small puffs of white mist shooting from my mouth. Cold sweat ran in small beads over my skin, causing the thin shirt I wore to cling to my torso. A long breath shuddered from my lungs as I whipped my head around to make sure I was in the barracks and not still in some intense dreamscape. That fact was confirmed when I heard Owain snort, then snore loudly in the bunk to my right.

No one else was awake yet, which meant it was either very early in the morning, or I had only managed to sleep for a couple hours before being forced awake. Regardless, there was no way I could go back to sleep now. Not with adrenaline, fear, and a bit of panic running through my system. As quietly as I could, I threw the sheets from my body, rose from my cot, and padded my way to the door.

I left the guy's bunk room and crept my way down the hall into the empty common room. When I got there I finally uttered a loud exhale, doubled over, and rested my hands on my knees.

"What the fuck?"

_I think my brain is finally gone. _I bowed my head, inhaled deep through my nose as I tried to steady my racing heart, then straightened up, _That is, if it wasn't gone already?_

I glanced over to the window, and noticed a pink tinge running through the Feroxi sky. It was dawn, and a cloudless one at that. The first cloudless sky I had seen in this frozen wasteland. It would've brought a tear to my eye if I wasn't so disturbed by my brain.

Blue sky with a pink and orange sunrise; it's incredible how easily such a simple occurrence can be taken for granted. Even during the harshest of winters in Wisconsin, there were days where the sun peeked over the horizon and gave off an awe inspiring glow. Those were sights I usually saw when I waited for the bus on my way to school. Even in that sleep filled state I was in while waiting for the bus, those sunrises always left me starstruck.

Unfortunately, it did not have the same effect this time. I quietly took a seat in front of the cold fireplace. Last night's logs were nothing more than blackened charcoal in the little stone box. The warm deer skin on the chair brushed over my still damp skin, and I uttered a small, content sigh. The Feroxi made surprisingly cozy furniture.

_Then again, I guess they'd have to, considering they are living in what is essentially permanent winter. _I nodded to myself, _Permanent winter... God that would suck. Almost sucks as much as that… nightmare… damn it brain._

I uttered a heavy sigh. My hands patted my thighs as my mind once again wandered to that dream, then to that terrible night in Port Ferox. Gaius's death replayed over and over in my mind, and I could not keep myself from wondering what I could have done differently. If I had helped him fight off Risen, would he have been able to run to the cart sooner? Perhaps even before Tharja and Aversa emerged from the Keep to try and stop us from escaping?

My hands clenched my legs as my right foot tapped against the floor. Every difference I could think of ended the exact same way; with someone dead. Sometimes it was me, sometimes it was Severa, sometimes it was Gaius still, and sometimes it was all of us. The harsh reality of those conclusions hit me, and I bowed my head. My entire body slumped back against the chair.

_It really was the best case scenario. _

I thought, throat constricting as I felt some tears well up in my eyes. The mantra both Gaius and Anna preached to me when I first started training under them rolled through my thoughts.

_Complete the mission… by any means necessary._

The door to the barracks creaked open, dragging me from my thoughts. I craned my head around and saw Morgan quietly walking in, her dark hood drawn and covered with flecks of snow blown onto her by the wind. She tiptoed her way inside, trying her best not to make any noise. When I cleared my throat to let her know I was there, she jumped a foot in the air, opened her spellbook and readied herself for a fight, only to sag when she saw it was only me.

"Geez, Sam." She puffed, closing her spellbook with a loud pop, "You scared me."

I blinked, "That's a first. I don't think I've managed to scare anyone here ever."

Morgan gave me a wry smile, "It's cause you don't know how to use the element of surprise yet. Hang around me, Owain, and Cynthia long enough, and you'll learn all about it." She jumped up onto a barstool and set her book down on the counter behind her, "What are you doing up so early?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line, then gave her a shrug, "No reason. Figured I'd enjoy a blue sky for the first time in forever."

"It is nice. With Grima's Shadow looming over us, the blue skies tend to go away." Morgan nodded. She put a finger to her chin as she thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers on that same hand, "Oh right! Almost forgot! Lissa and Tiki want you to meet them in the Khan's quarters after breakfast."

I raised an eyebrow, "Meet with me?" I glanced over to the hallway, "You sure they don't mean Anna?"

A flicker of annoyance flashed over Morgan's face, "Anna's leaving. Or that's what I hear from the Arena guards and Sir Frederick." She folded her arms and crossed her legs, a long frown on her lips, "Apparently, she's finally gonna get her wish once we get back to Ylisstol."

"That being?"

"To get the hell away from here." Morgan answered, "Anna's been trying to escape the war since it started. Not really sure what made her stick around for so long, but it was probably the gold. Then again, the gold dried up a year or two ago. Gold is pretty worthless when there is nowhere to really spend it."

"Makes sense." I nodded. I cleared my throat as a cough threatened to bubble up from my lungs, "How are you holding up?"

"Hm?"

"You know," I motioned with my hand towards her, "How are you doing given… everything."

Morgan pressed her lips into a tight line. Her hands folded in her lap as one leg bounced against a rung on the barstool.

"Can't say it's been easy." She admitted, "We were all close to Gaius." Her mouth twitched, "Guess I keep thinking about what else I could've done."

I nodded, "Yeah… me too."

"But," Morgan bobbed her head, "it is not the first death I have seen. Certainly won't be the last. I mean, I've been kinda on the frontline of things since I started showing how good I was at tactics." She gave me a lazy shrug, "Like father like daughter, or so they tell me. Never got to witness father's tactics firsthand. Battlefield tactics, that is."

It stunned me just how quickly she moved off of the heavy subject that was Gaius's death. She admitted outright that all of them, every kid, was close to him. Treated him like an unruly Uncle in fact. Despite that, Morgan did not seem disturbed, or even surprised, by his death. Perhaps it was just her way of coping. Bury the sadness beneath things that she had an obvious passion for, like tactics. It made sense, in a way. There was a war to be fought. Someone had to lay out the plans for our survival against an ever growing tide of Risen, and it sounded like Morgan was a big part of those plans.

It still felt a tad off for her to be so nonchalant about the current situation. Nevertheless, I decided not to press the issue. Some buttons you do not push, especially when the subject was still raw in the minds of everyone.

With that final thought in mind, I stretched my arms and got to my feet.

"Suppose I better get dressed." I muttered as I suppressed a yawn. Before I made my way back down the corridor, I glanced back at Morgan. She had spun back around to face the bar, her hands moving to pry open her beat up spellbook, "Hey Morgan."

"Yeah?"

"You know that if anything is bothering you, you can say so, right?"

I saw a puzzled expression briefly flash over Morgan's face, "Y-yeah? But nothing is really bothering me, honest."

I blinked. Either she was doing a very good job hiding her own sorrow, or this poor kid has seen way too many deaths in her young life. I grimaced and gave her an understanding nod, before quickly exiting a potentially awkward conversation. As always, when royalty and a dragon summons you, it's best to get moving quickly. There was not much time for small talk.

* * *

Once I got dressed (a simple brown shirt with a leather jerkin over top, heavy pants to help weather the cold and road, my boots, and the black cloak Anna gave me when this entire adventure first started), I made my way up into the peak of the Arena, where the Khan's quarters were. I did not bother getting something for breakfast. Mostly because I did not feel hungry. I've never been much of a breakfast person anyways, because I enjoyed sleeping in. Back home, before the bus hit me, I was the kind of person that grabbed a granola bar, ran out the door, and went about my day.

Since granola bars did not exist here, and seeing as how I did not feel like cooking anything (even if I did manage to make it edible), I simply decided to show up for whatever meeting I had been summoned to early.

I reached the last step and quietly entered the corridor that led to the Khan's quarters. Torches still flickered along the pillars, casting a faint orange glow on the shadowy corridor. Those torches would be put out once the sun fully rose, especially on a clear day like today. Already, golden rays of sunshine slipped through the gaps in the pillars, nearly blinding me as I glanced to the east.

I used my hand to blot the sun from my eyes as I gazed out over the Arena. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to knock on the Khan's door, or wait till someone peeked out and told me to come in. So, given my indecisiveness, I lingered halfway down the corridor, and decided to stare down at my boots. A frown creased over my lips as I noticed a slight crack in the leather, near the big toe of my right foot.

_Gonna have to get that fixed._

The door to the Khan's quarters creaked open, and I jumped, surprised that someone was already opening the door. Tiki stepped out, quietly shutting the door behind her. I did not startle her as much as she startled me. Before she even turned to look at me, I saw her long ears twitch, as if she could hear me breathing in the frosty air.

"Good morning, Samwise." She said, voice a touch sleepy still. She turned to face me, "You've arrived early."

I gave her a sheepish smile, "Didn't feel like eating anything. And there was nothing to do in the barracks so I figured I'd just make my way up here and- well- better early than late."

Tiki offered me a small smile, and I could not help but blush a little bit. Due to the sunny day, and the obvious "warmth" of the Feroxi sun, Tiki decided to forgo her usual, heavy red coat, and instead donned a pink cape. It allowed me to see the red tunic that hugged her figure, which only made the dark tinge over my cheeks even darker. I quickly cleared my throat, and flicked my eyes over to the center of the arena, where the sun sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight.

"Does not eating come with being the son of a soldier?" Tiki asked me as she decided to lean up against a pillar, a loud yawn slipping from her lips after she asked her questions.

I nodded, still keeping my eyes away from her. Not that I did not want to look at her. I think any guy would agree that Tiki was gorgeous. But it would not be very… becoming of someone like me to… I don't know, think Dragon Jesus was hot?

"Yeah, it's a bad habit."

Tiki's smile was gone as I answered, which made me feel confused.

"So…" Her emerald eyes were focused on me, and I swore I saw her pupils narrow at me, "There is no amnesia after all."

My stomach dropped. I felt my knees knock as I could feel her penetrating stare hit me, as if she was staring right into my soul. My mouth felt dry as my breathing quickened. And for some goddamn reason my stomach decided now was a good time to growl.

"W-wow." I stammered ducking my head so that I could look down at my shoes again, "That was a hell of a slip of the tongue."

"Several, it seems." Tiki said. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I detected a faint snarl to her voice now.

I swallowed hard, then dared to glance over at Tiki. My eyes widened as I saw fangs in her mouth. She was barring them at me, and that was enough to make all of my limbs turn to jelly due to fear.

"What is the truth, Samwise?" She asked.

I steadied myself against the stone railing, "I um…" I sucked in a sharp breath, "God it's hard to catch your breath way up here. Fuck… um… I'm not an enemy. I definitely do not align with Grima."

"Then why the charade?" She asked.

"Well…" I bobbed my head back and forth, "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Speak!"

I pursed my lips. I could practically feel the power radiating from Tiki right now. The air practically rippled around her form as she leaked out raw magic. My hesitation apparently did not sit well with her, because she snarled at me, and I made a squeaking noise that apparently amused the scary dragon lady.

"I'm from a different dimension- er world- universe, maybe!?"

I threw my arms over my head, squeezed my eyes shut, and braced for the dragon to pounce. When I didn't feel claws, fangs, or dragonfire tearing into my skin, I cracked an eye open.

She stared at me, an incredulous look on her face. One of her eyebrows was arched while her lips were drawn into a small frown. Which was a vast improvement compared to the snarl she had before I blurted out the truth. I slowly lowered my arms, but I kept myself extra small in front of the still dangerous Tiki.

"Now, I know you're about to ask me for proof." I continued, my voice filled with caution, "And, honestly, I wish I could produce some proof. But my biggest source of proof blew up thanks to Anna and a Thunder tome so-"

It was as if I smacked Tiki across the face. Her head shook violently as she reeled from the rapid, word salad I threw at her.

"H-hold on." She raised a hand, and my mouth snapped closed with a clop, "Anna knows?"

I gulped, "Well… yeah? Hard to not tell the truth when someone is holding a knife to your throat."

Tiki drew back, her puzzled expression now more contemplative. She pressed her lips together, no longer baring her fangs at me (which did wonders to calm my nerves). She brought a finger up to her chin and thought for a moment before nodding.

"If Anna trusts you, then I will as well."

My jaw fell open, "J-just like that?"

Tiki nodded, "I am sure you already know, but Anna is not very trusting of others. If she already asked you about it, and accepted your explanation, then you have already passed the test of a far more wary person than I." She furrowed her brow, "I am curious as to how you came here though, as well as what possibly brought you to our world, so to speak."

I shrugged, "Honestly, your guess is as good as mine."

Tiki arched an eyebrow, "So you don't know how your strange circumstance occurred?"

I shook my head, "No idea." I exhaled, finally letting out the breath that I had been holding. Every muscle in me relaxed and I let my shoulders drop, "But, given how strange they are, I'm sure you can understand why I decided to not say anything?"

Tiki frowned, "Understand? Sure. Recommend? Hardly." She folded her arms, "I've heard of strange cases before, and while yours may be the strangest, it isn't so far out there." Her frown briefly turned into a quaint smile, "It is about as strange as an amnesiac, Plegian Tactician found in southern Ylisse, at least."

I cringed at that. Tiki brought up a fair point. Surely, someone coming from another world would not be too outlandish. I mean, how could it be stranger than a story where a random stranger happens to meet Ylissean royalty, befriends them, and then ends up being the very enemy they're destined to defeat in the end. Then again, I doubt anyone here would react very well to me revealing they are actually characters in what I once thought was only a fictional story played out through a video game.

_How the hell would I even begin to describe a video game?_

A heavy sigh slipped from Tiki's lips, "Well…" She gave me a small smirk that I could not decide if it was threatening or amused, "As curious as I am about who you are, Sam, my curiosity will have to wait. Right now personal origins, and lack of candor regarding them, are the least of my concerns. You have proven yourself to be a friend to the Shepherds, and to Anna, so I will trust their judgement on the matter. However, know that I do expect you to unveil the truth in due time."  
_In due time? The hell does that mean? Does that mean right now? Tomorrow? Sometime down the road? Why does she have to be so cryptic about it? _

We both turned our heads back to the Khan's door when we heard Flavia's hoarse coughing echo through the corridor. A flash of concern raced over Tiki's face.

"She's awake for now. Which means the council needs to commence."

As if on cue, the doors on the other end of the hall opened. Frederick, Lon'qu, Lissa, and Captain Raimi marched into the corridor. To my surprise, Morgan trailed closely behind them. Her heavy spellbook nestled in the crook of her right arm.

Tiki nodded towards the door as they marched by us.

"Come, Samwise."

I blinked, "I'm part of this?" I asked as I quickly rushed after Tiki and the other military leaders.

I slipped into Khan Flavia's room after Tiki, just before the Feroxi guards on the other end closed the door with a soft click. As always, Khan Flavia's room boiled with heat. I pulled on the collar of my jerkin with my finger, trying to get some air to flow through my outfit as the heat slammed into me.

Tiki glanced back at me as she approached a haphazardly set up table at the foot of Khan Flavia's bed, "Yes, you are."

I was about to ask why, but decided to remain quiet as the others glanced up to Tiki. Tiki took her spot at the head of the table, opposite of Khan Flavia's bed. The weak Khan was propped up against pillows so that she could see the many maps and reports strewn across the table. Raimi stood near the foot of the bed, one arm resting against a bannister as she furrowed her brow at the maps on the table. Frederick stood stiff as a board across the table from her, hands folded behind his back. Acting more like a guard than a contributor to whatever this council was. Lon'qu stood behind Lissa's shoulder. He gave me a small nod. The highest form of communication I could receive from the silent swordsman. Lissa uttered a sleepy yawn in front of him. Despite her perfect outward appearance (hair put up in a nice style and wrinkle free, royal robes), she looked absolutely exhausted. Dark circles sat around her eyes as she struggled to keep them open. Tiki gave the Exalt a worried look.

"No sleep again?" Tiki asked.

Lissa closed her eyes and nodded, "I've been staying by Lucina's side. Waiting for her to wake up, along with Cynthia." She yawned again, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

Morgan's brow creased in confusion, "That shouldn't mean you can't sleep."

Frederick raised a hand, telling the young tactician to remain quiet on the matter. Lissa shrugged off Morgan's puzzled comment.

"I'll sleep better once she wakes up." Lissa leaned against the table, "In the meantime, we need to figure out what is going on."

"Indeed." Khan Flavia spoke up, her voice quieter and hoarser than yesterday. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Libra lingering near the fireplace, healing staff in hand, "But before we do that, we need to discuss something else."

All eyes turned to the Khan. Flavia tried to sit up higher in her bed, only to give up after the effort appeared too strenuous for her weakened body. She sagged, sinking down into her pillows instead of rising up. Her chest rose and fell in heavy, labored breaths as she eyed everyone at the foot of her bed. Harsh coughs wracked her lungs, and I could see Libra tensing in his seat.

"Fucking poison- bastards!" Flavia heaved between hacks. She sucked in a sharp breath once the coughing fit subsided, "I wish I could pay that damn Deadlord back for this shit."

"If this is too much for you, my Khan, we can-"

"Shut that damn mouth of yours Raimi. Before I force my shambling corpse of a body over there and smack you." Flavia scolded, her voice sounding like gravel was being gargled in her throat, "I ain't too weak to talk, yet." Her throat bobbed, "But that time is coming."

Lissa's eyes widened, "Flavia, don't start talking like-"

"Pah!" Flavia coughed hard again. A harsh cough that jolted her body forward. Once it was done, she sank back into her pillows again, and I could see a faint trail of blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth, "Ain't no point in dancing around the subject, Exalt. We Feroxi ain't ones to tiptoe around the problem. Fact of the matter is, no matter what you do, the poison is only getting worse. Whatever sickness it has given me is going to win. Time to prepare for the inevitable." Khan Flavia turned her gaze back to Captain Raimi, "Raimi, seeing as how we ain't able to do the traditional tourney for Khanship, upon my death, you will assume the mantle of Khan."

Raimi's face turned ghost white, "K-Khan Flavia- I- I-"

"Oh don't you get fucking start that crap." Flavia growled, a slight smirk on her lips, "I spent a lot of time thinking about this decision, and there ain't no one more hardass enough for the job than you. Well, there's Lon, but seeing as how he's married to another nation's monarch, that ain't happening." She uttered a weak laugh at that.

Raimi stared stunned at Khan Flavia. I could see the gears turning in the grizzled captain's head as she struggled to process what she was hearing.

Flavia's declarations went against most Feroxi traditions. A khan was never named. The title had to be won. I remembered that part of the game very well. Typically, the two Khans that governed separate halves of the massive nation would meet at this very Arena to decide who the superior ruler would be, and thus would be placed in charge of the Feroxi military. But seeing as how there was only one Khan currently, and there wasn't much time to organize such a tournament, it made sense to me that Flavia would forgo tradition in this instance.

Then again, it wasn't my culture. I could not even begin to comprehend the possible ramifications for Captain Raimi. While I did feel she would make a fine Khan, after witnessing her leadership firsthand at the Longfort, there could be those within her ranks who would bristle at this change of power. Humans tended to not be the most rational of people, and even in the face of the apocalypse, tended to want to keep things the same rather than adapt. Traditions were included in that conundrum. Just by the look on Raimi's face, I could tell she came to the same conclusion I did.

Nevertheless, she simply nodded at Khan Flavia.

"I will do my best when the time comes." She finally replied, her voice lacking the usual power and confidence it often held.

Flavia's lips parted into a genuine smile, "I know you will." She coughed again then reached up with a hand to wipe the blood away from her chin, "Alright, now that's out of the way, the fuck are you all doing here?"

That caused a small snort to come from Lon'qu. A laugh, if I had to guess. Lissa wiped her eyes with her hands.

"I'm wondering the same thing." She blinked sleepily over to Tiki, "You called this council. What is going on?"

Tiki nodded, one finger tapping the table in front of her, "Something has been bothering me since we debriefed Sam yesterday."

_Oh lovely, I caused a problem._

"That being?" Frederick asked.

Tiki turned to me and gestured for me to come closer to the table. I hesitated, and that hesitation led to Flavia's voice booming out.

"Step forwards stripling! Naga damn it, I ain't got all day!"

I scrambled up to the table. I noticed a slight smirk of amusement plastered over Morgan's face before she turned her attention back to the maps in front of her.

"Wh-what do you all need to know about?" I asked.

Tiki took a breath, "When you recounted your torture and subsequent rescue by Gaius and Severa, you mentioned Gaius and Tharja exchanged words. Is that correct?"

I nodded, "Um, yeah."

"You never mentioned what they said. Did you not hear or-"

"N-no, I heard. Just- um, wasn't sure how to go about them." I admitted, "Gaius basically threatened her, if I recall correctly. And Tharja warned him that we were out of time. That Grima was going to strike where we least expected."

Lissa's sleepiness evaporated, and she whipped her gaze over to Tiki, "I thought she turned traitor?"

"She did." Morgan scowled.

"The situation appears much more complicated than we initially thought." Tiki muttered, "That could have been her way of relaying information to us. Or what little information she knew."

"Probably mere coincidence." Frederick pointed out, a frown on his face, "These villains do like to gloat when their backs are put against a wall."

_Monologuing. _I thought to myself, _Seems to be a problem for all villains._

"Even if it is just coincidence," Tiki continued, "we must take it with all the seriousness we would with regular intelligence." She tapped a finger onto the map, which detailed Arena Ferox, and the lands surrounding it, "Grima is well aware that this is where we are camped out. So, it is simple to assume he plans to strike us, and soon. The questions become: from where, and when?"

Morgan stroked her chin, "Well… obviously, if we take Tharja's word for it, the strike will be from where we least expect. Given that Grima's armies have recently taken Port Ferox, I think it's safe to assume that Grima's armies are to the west of us?"

"So west is where we would expect the attack?" Raimi questioned.

Lissa raised a hand, "Maybe, but then, maybe he is playing games with us and expecting us to expect just that."

Morgan raised an eyebrow, "Er... maybe?" She rubbed her chin, "I mean, that's… hm… what puzzles me is how lightly defended Port Ferox was."

"Why would the Fell Dragon be worried about defending anything?" Frederick wondered out loud, "Everywhere he goes, the land dies. It's not like it is worth anything to him."

I cleared my throat, then immediately wondered why I drew attention to myself as all eyes turned to me. Hell, I wondered why I was even at this council. Who was I to be among this gathering of military minds and leaders? I barely had my training wheels off for my little job in the Ylissean military. Why should I be trusted to help make major decisions?

_Maybe they just forgot to tell me to leave?_

"Did you have something to add, Samwise?" Tiki asked.

I gulped, "Um… I guess. But question: why am I here?"

Frederick inclined his chin, "I'm wondering the same thing."

Lissa smacked his chest with the back of her hand, "Be nice."

"I am being plenty courteous to Samwise, milady but-"

Lon'qu grunted, and Frederick closed his mouth. Morgan snickered off to the side at their antics, while Raimi regarded them with mild confusion. Tiki looked over at me.

"Because Sam, as of right now, you are the only scout within the Shepherd's ranks. Anna has made it clear she no longer wants to be of service. And Gaius…" She drew in a deep breath, "Gaius has gone on to the next life."

A sober silence descended on the table, a silence that felt even heavier for me. Not only because the pain of Gaius's death came refreshed to my mind, but because the implications of what Tiki said slammed into me like a runaway carriage.

I was the only scout in the Shepherd's ranks. Sure, there were other scouts in this vast army, but I was the only "elite" scout remaining.

"Fuck we're desperate." I accidentally muttered out loud.

Frederick's jaw fell open, Tiki flinched, Raimi blinked, Lissa snorted, Morgan bowed her head, and Khan Flavia threw her head back and laughed loudly. A fit of coughs cut her laughter short.

"He gets it." Flavia breathed, voice hoarse.

I didn't even bother to get embarrassed by my slip of the tongue. I simply felt too overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events. I rested my chin against my hand, fingers tapping along my jawline.

"Well… um…" I glanced around, "I suppose I better start talking." I cleared my throat, "I'd say it's odd that the Fell Dragon didn't have a larger force at Port Ferox given he had Princess Lucina captive there."

Frederick's brow furrowed, "Do you believe that we did not strike miraculous luck then?"

I rubbed my chin and shook my head, "I mean… when have we ever been lucky against Grima?"

Silence.

"Yeah, figured as much."

Morgan's eyes widened, "It was a set up."

"What was that, Morgan?" Lissa asked.

Morgan snapped her head up from the maps on the table, "It was a set up. A test! Grima was testing us. He wanted us to infiltrate the city."

Raimi raised her brow, "Why'd the lizard want to test us?"

"I-I-" Morgan stammered, "I don't know. Maybe he was fishing for information?"

Tiki nodded, "Tharja and Aversa did have some rather dangerous questions for Anna and Sam. Questions regarding the Fire Emblem, and the gemstones."

Lissa paled, "You don't think-"

"He could be aware of the Fire Emblem's capabilities." Tiki said, concern growing in her voice as she spoke, "And he might have become aware through torturing Lucina."

"Oh Naga…" Morgan rested her head on her hand as her elbow rested on the table, "This is bad."

"Very." Frederick nodded in agreement, "Once Lucina wakes up, we will ask her what happened. That is the only way we can know for certain if the Emblem's secrets remain intact."

"In the meantime," Raimi stopped leaning against the bannister, "if Tharja really was trying to warn us, then we have an imminent attack on our hands."

Morgan's brow furrowed as I watched her wrack her brain, "I need some time to figure that bit out. Grima's army is obviously on the move, due to their lack of presence at Port Ferox. But where did they move to?" Her voice lowered as she started to study the maps intently, "Obviously not directly east, or we would've seen them coming back. Perhaps south, back towards Plegia? Or…"

She trailed off into indecipherable muttering as she worked through the problem in that brilliant head of hers. I could see one of her hands reaching for a quill and inkwell while the fingers on her other hand traced invisible lines over the map. Lines she would eventually fill in with ink. Not that I could understand any of it. In the meantime, I could see that the others were ready to continue the council. I for one, did not feel I could contribute much more. Tiki seemed to notice how uncomfortable I was. She gave me a reassuring nod.

"We will summon you later if you're needed, Samwise. Before you go though, we need to discuss furthering your training."

"Given Anna's decision to stop helping, I doubt she's going to want to continue instructing him." Lissa frowned, "And no Frederick, I am not handing him over to you. He's a scout, not a soldier."

"A scout is a type of soldier." Frederick hummed, "Given his lack of experience in combat, it might prove worth his time to attempt to learn again?"

I raised my brow, "I'm not sure if learning how to wield a broadsword would do me any good. Hard to sneak around with one of those." I pursed my lips, "I think I'll have a small talk with Anna. I assume she's not getting that boat right away?"

"It'll take time for one to be ready to go on the coast, yes." Lissa nodded.

"Then maybe she can still give me pointers. At least until you all have someone more qualified for this position ready to go. I'll talk to her. She doesn't seem as… abrasive towards me as she is to all of you. Probably because she was drunk, but I'll take my chances."

Tiki smiled a little at that, "Very well. If she refuses, let us know."

"If she refuses, let _me_ know." Lissa sighed, "I still have some gold in the royal coffers. That might convince her to help out a bit more."

"We can only hope." Frederick grumbled.

I frowned at their doubt, but said nothing in reply. With an awkward bow that caused a few amused looks on Tiki and Lissa's faces, and a loud guffaw from Flavia, I stepped out of the room. Once the doors were shut behind me, I doubled over. A wave of nausea hit me. I sprinted over to the edge of the corridor and threw up what little food I had in my stomach.

As my body shook next to the railing, I gasped and raised my gaze to the rising sun.

_I'm the only elite scout. _

I inhaled and pushed away from the railing. My new agenda for the day rushed through my mind in a scattered amalgamation of random thoughts. I knew I had to talk to Anna. Hopefully convince her to continue teaching me until it was time for her to leave. After that… what? Eat something, but that depended on how nauseous I felt.

_This is bad. Very bad. _I put my hands on my hips and took a deep breath of the frozen air, _One thing at a time, Sam. Just like work. Take it one door at a time. First things first: Anna. _I paused mid step towards the exit and frowned, _That's going to be one heavy door._

* * *

When I did not find Anna lying in her cot, half drunk and hungover, I grew a little concerned. Whenever I have a hangover, I'm incapacitated for at least half of the next morning. I don't do well with nausea, so a hangover is one of the worst feelings for me. While I did not expect her to react the same way, I did expect her to still be recovering. I mean, straight up corn whiskey can really knock someone on their ass.

But with Anna not in her room, and with no one in the barracks to point me in whatever direction she went, my concern turned to worry. I quickly exited the barracks and furrowed my brow, trying to figure out where she could have gone. I shoved my hands into my pockets as a blast of cold wind brushed over the army camp. The sun might be out, but it was a winter sun. Pretty to look at, but did pretty much nothing at all when it came to providing warmth. A familiar thing for me. That's how home was for several months out of the year.

I shivered, shrugged my cloak further over my shoulders, then paused before I started marching away from the barracks.

Where could Anna have gone? It was a pretty good question. She could have gone to her cart, but why? I mean, she probably wanted to check on the merchandise she still had in there. That would line up with her. That also begged the question of where the cart was? I vaguely recalled arriving back to Arena Ferox after our mad dash of an escape from Port Ferox. But with how exhausted I felt, I did not register any of the finer details. I simply recalled getting off the cart, being taken in by a group of healers so they could look me over, then falling into a fitful sleep for the first time in days.

So yeah, I have no idea where Cynthia parked the damn thing. Anna probably didn't know either, unless she asked Cynthia. Since the Pegasus Knight appeared to be… somewhere, I could not bank on meeting Anna at her cart.

I pressed my lips together, wincing a little as the chapped skin pulled along my mouth. Finding Anna would be impossible, unless she wanted to be found. I doubted I could track her down in the gigantic mass of tents and soldiers that surrounded Arena Ferox. So, with that thought in mind, I decided to move on to the one other place I could think of.

I strode back towards Arena Ferox and paused beside one of the guards near the main entrance.

"Excuse me."

The guard eyed me. An intimidating glare that, if this had been a few months ago, would've made me shrink. But after facing down Risen, Dark Mages, and a pissed off Anna, it hardly fazed me. When I failed to blink, I thought I could see a slight smirk on the Feroxi's brown lips.

"You're a different Ylissean aren't ya?" The guard muttered, "What can I do for ya?"

I snorted a little at that. If only he knew how different.

"I'm looking for Princess Lucina. I helped bring her back, but I haven't gone to check up on her and well… figured it'd be the right thing to do."

The guard inclined his chin, "Near the Exalt's chambers. Third door to the right on their corridor. Second to last level."

I nodded as I mumbled his directions under my breath, "Thanks." I replied.

It did not take me long to ascend the massive stone steps to the second to last level of Arena Ferox. Once I exited the stairwell and entered the main corridor, I noticed a distinct difference between this corridor and the Khan's corridor.

This area of the Arena felt very Ylissean. Ylissean royal guards, clad in plate armor with green tunics beneath, guarded the hall and doors. It was nowhere near as open as the Khan's corridor, possessing simple openings that acted more as windows than expansive panoramic views of the Arena and surrounding countryside. There were a few green and gold Ylissean banners fluttering in what little cold wind managed to filter into the tighter corridor.

The guards tensed when I entered the corridor, but relaxed when I gave them a friendly, if a little nervous, wave of my hand. Wordlessly, I passed by them and made my way to Lucina's door. Two royal guards were stationed beside the door, silver lances glittering in the sunlight that filtered through the corridor. I gulped when I glanced at the razor sharp edges of the lances then cleared my throat.

"I um-" The guards eyed me carefully, "I helped rescue the Princess, and I came to check up on her."

One guard glanced over at the other, "You Master Samwise?"

_Master Samwise? When did I become a hobbit?_

"Y-yeah." I scratched the back of my neck as I resisted the urge to correct my name to 'Samuel'. At this point, the entire camp knew me as Samwise. Better to just go with it and avoid any unnecessary confusion in the process.

The guard that addressed me smiled a little bit, "Then we have you to thank. Along with Anna too. You helped save the Princess's life. That's no small feat." The guard glanced up and down the hall, "She woke up not long ago, so keep your visit brief. Exalt's orders."

My eyes widened. Lucina woke up! I wasn't sure if that was a great thing or another stroke of bad luck. On the one hand, that meant I could actually check up on Lucina and see if she was okay. On the other hand, I wondered if Anna was actually still here. Part of me thought Anna would make sure Lucina was not awake if she stopped by to check her. That part of me was proved right as I stepped into the small quarters the Princess occupied.

Contrary to what I would think a Princess's quarters would look like, there was no canopy bed. No large wardrobe either. Definitely no bay windows, or massive fireplace, or lush rugs. Not a hint of luxury existed in the room. It was lightly furnished. A small dresser rested against a blank, stone wall across from a twin bed. There was a fur rug on the floor, probably to help keep the room warm rather than being there for decoration. A lone table rested next to the twin bed, and a single window provided some sunlight into the small room. Leaning against that table was a sword that looked like nothing I had ever seen before. Well, I've seen it before, through a screen, but to see it in person was both awe inspiring and strange.

Falchion rested in a beat up, leather scabbard. Notches were cut into the boiled leather, probably due to getting nicked in combat. The unique hilt and guard were unmistakable, and the golden metal along the guard shimmered in the sunlight.

I must have been staring at it a while, because someone cleared their throat, and I jumped about two feet into the air. My head whipped around, looking for the source of the sound. Finally, my eyes landed on Lucina as she sat propped up in her bed, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Uh…" I quickly straightened myself out, "I heard something and um-"

"That was me."

"Yeah." I muttered, glancing down and brushing my foot over a particularly loose stone in the floor, "Figured as much." I cleared my throat, "Um, I'm not sure if your recall but-"

"You got me out of that cell in Port Ferox." Lucina said, cutting me off.

It was strange hearing her talk now. Back in Port Ferox, she appeared so frail. Even her voice sounded shaky and fragile. As if it was about to crack, then fade away with just the wrong poke against her wounded body. Now that she had been in Arena Ferox and received the best medical care from Libra, Lissa, and Maribelle, she sounded far stronger. Her voice held a strength and determination to it that stunned me. For someone that had recently been at death's door, and nearly tortured to death, she looked remarkably well.

_Magic is amazing!_

I nervously put my hands in my pockets, "Yeah um, it was nothing really. Just doing my job and-"

"It meant a lot to me." Lucina replied, "So thank you. You may not have gotten me all the way out on your first try, but your actions saved my life. I owe you for that."

She cleared her throat and winced as she tried to sit up further in her bed. The heavy blankets shifted over her frail form, and for the first time I realized just how thin she really was. It was an unhealthy amount of thin, likely due to being starved while captive in Port Ferox. Add in battlefield wear and tear, lack of time to eat, and it amazed me that Lucina possessed as much strength as she did at this point in her recovery.

_Way tougher than me._

"So… Aunt Lissa said your name was Samwise?"

"Well, actually it's Samuel but-"

"Why would it not be named Samwise?"

"Um-"

"I mean," Lucina sank back in her pillows, clearly confused, "Everyone calls you that. Aunt Lissa and Aunt Maribelle called you that. Frederick preferred not to call you anything."

"Sounds about right." I cut in with a quiet chuckle.

Lucina laughed a little at that, "Don't worry so much about him. Frederick is called The Wary, for good reason. He takes a long time to warm up to people, and he is still warming up to you."

I raised an eyebrow, "I failed to notice."

"Yeah well, he didn't grumble about you to me earlier. So I'd call that progress on your end."

She shifted in her bed again, using one shaking hand to pull at the heavy quilt over her body. When it slipped from her grasp, I stepped forward and helped her pull it up.

I did not miss the suddenly cautious gleam in her eyes. She shrank back from me as I pulled the quilt up for her, as if she was terrified of me. I froze where I was at, then quickly retracted my hands.

"Sorry, just you looked like-"

"It's um…" She reached up and brushed some blue locks from her forehead, "It's fine, Samwise, just-" She shook her head, any tension leaving her as she uttered a deep breath, "Anna was the only one that called you Sam."

_Oh thank God! A way out of this awkward moment._

"Anna was here?" I replied.

"Yeah, um… much earlier." Lucina muttered, "I only caught her leaving. Heard her voice as I woke up. Can't really recall much of what she was saying. Just that she needed to go get something, then she'd be back."

"Any idea where she-"

The door opened, closed behind me, and I heard a pair of boots stomp into the room.

"Oh good, there you are."

_I really am lucky._

I spun around, and Anna stood in the doorway, arms folded over her chest. She wore her same mottled outfit of patchwork oranges and browns. But now a red cloak rested over her shoulders. An expensive looking one at that. I couldn't see a single seam in the fabric. I also did not see the brooch on her chest. Sitting in the crook of her arm was a red piece of fabric, folded neatly into a nice square.

_It might still be back in the bunkroom._

"Been looking for you." Anna grunted as she stepped by me then placed the fabric gently onto the table next to Lucina, "Here," She said, addressing the Princess, "This will help shield you from the wind when you get up and moving again."

Lucina stared wide eyed at the red cape folded on her table, "You're giving it to me for free?"

Anna's mouth twitched, "Yeah well…I'm on my way out, and I can't take everything with me once whatever boat your Aunt has for me is ready to go. So I'm clearing my stock now. Not many people want something that fancy anymore. Figured you'd like it."

Lucina reached over and took the cape, gently unfurling it. There were no special markings stitched into the fabric. Just a plain, seamless cape. Lightweight enough to not drag her down when worn, but heavy enough to act as a good barrier to Regna Ferox's brutal winter winds. Lucina pressed her lips together, then gave Anna a small, grateful smile.

"I'm sorry to hear you're leaving."

Anna grimaced, "I'm getting a bit old for this line of work, kid. I've reached my limit of stuff I think I can do." She sighed then glanced at me, "That's why I've been working with Sam. Speaking of working, c'mon. We need to give the Princess her space."

Before I could say a word, she spun me around and shooed me out of the Princess's room. I faintly heard Lucina offer me and Anna a goodbye before the door shut behind me. Anna did not stop marching me away from the Princess until we entered the stairwell. Once on the frigid stairs, she exhaled and let go of my shoulder.

"Risky move, Samuel." She hissed to me as she started down the stairs.

"R-risk- hey!" I jumped down a few steps in order to catch up to her, catching her off guard as I landed and spun to cut her off, "I was just checking up on her."

"You are not at the level yet, buddy." She replied, a snarl in her voice, "If Frederick found out about that it would've been-"

I rolled my eyes, "At this point, I'm not very afraid of Frederick the Wary."

"Oh really? Well then you haven't seen him pissed. I have. Trust me, you'd be smart to avoid that sort of situation." She stepped around me and continued down the steps. I followed her, "Frederick is fiercely protective of Lucina. Seeing as how he doesn't trust you yet-"

"Okay, see that's what is starting to get me." I interrupted, "I nearly got killed, got tortured even, to help save Lucina's life and he still doesn't trust me?"

Anna sighed as we neared the bottom of the stairs, "I never said it was fair, Sam. Just the way he is. Ain't ever going to change. You just gotta learn to understand it, then roll with it."

Ah, that was something I could do. Being small and inconspicuous was something I was very good at in my old life. Rolling with the tumultuous flow of events, while not always calmly, was also something I could do. Maybe Gaius noticed those qualities and that was why he chose to teach me. Perhaps Anna now saw the same. If eventually getting on the Knight-Commander's goodside meant staying off his radar, then consider it done.

That being said, it still irked me that Frederick still considered me a threat of some sort. Anna seemed to notice my annoyance, because she stopped walking, paused beside a pillar, and turned to face me.

"Look, Frederick is a frontline soldier. Always has been, always will be. He believes in taking the enemy head on. Courage, gallantry, honor, all that fun stuff that gets people killed. All stuff that you and I do not really use in our line of work. That makes him… we'll go with uncomfortable. Makes him unable to really control us and what we do in battle, considering he really has no clue what we actually do beyond gathering intelligence." She gave my shoulder a pat then started walking into the army camp, "Don't take it personally, and stay out of his sights."

I nodded my head as I trailed after her, "Alright, can do." I glanced around the camp at the various soldiers going about their duties, or milling around their tents, "What are we doing? Why were you looking for me again?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "I'm leaving, Sam. I'm well aware of what that means. You'll be the only scout in the Shepherds's ranks, and you are woefully unprepared for that."

I winced, "Would my hopelessly unprepared state convince you to stay and help out?"

Anna stopped walking. I saw her briefly glance up at the crystal clear sky. As if she was wondering why she was saddled with a complete idiot like me as a trainee. She glanced over her shoulder at me.

"No, I am very done with this line of work. I want to get back to just being a Merchant. Which is not possible in Archanea, or in Valm."

"Where else is there to go?"

"Doesn't matter, and it's none of your business." Anna remarked coldly, "In the meantime though, while I wait for a boat to take me far away from here, I need to make sure you're good to go."

I quirked an eyebrow as she started walking again. We passed by a few blacksmith tents, a healing tent, then moved towards a group of tents that looked a lot bigger, and richer, than the rest of the military tents around the Arena.

"Did Lissa already get to you about that?" I asked as my boots crunched on gravel instead of ice and snow. There was a cleared pathway in this section of camp, strange.

Anna shook her head, "No."

Confusion built in me, "Then why are you-"

"You went in to save my ass when I got caught in Port Ferox." Anna said, "While I told you explicitly not to do that, you did it anyways. Which means I owe you, and I hate owing people. I may not be able to fully repay you before I go, but I can at least get you ready for the job ahead of you. That starts by furthering your ability in combat. After seeing what I've seen, I'm pissed I was so lax with you."

I drew back as we stopped in front of the largest tent in this section of the camp. Blue and white banners fluttered in front of it, and a few torches on sticks, unlit, sat in front of the entry. Someone very rich owned this tent. But who?

"L-Lax?"

Anna did not reply. She knocked on the front post of the tent. I heard a flurry of commotion inside, a man with a twangy accent bark at someone, then I heard a woman with a very cultured clip in her voice reply.

To my shock, Brady poked his head out of the tent.

"A-Anna!" Brady stammered. He glanced at me and nodded before returning his attention to Anna, "Listen um… that corn whiskey was not-"

Anna rolled her eyes, "The last time I sold corn whiskey was when the world wasn't ending. Therefore, it wasn't mine, so don't worry about it. Where's your mom?"

"She's um-"

"Brady Roderick Themis, who is at the door?" I heard Maribelle call from inside, "And what is this I hear about corn whiskey?"

Brady paled, "N-nothing, Ma!"

A pink parasol smacked Brady upside the head, "It is 'Mother', not 'Ma'." She scolded as Brady recoiled from the blow. Maribelle flung the tent's entry open for me and Anna, "I did not raise you to speak like an uneducated troglodyte."

"Sorry Ma-Mother!" Brady quickly corrected himself before Maribelle could berate him further.

I must've had an amused look on my face, because I saw both embarrassment and frustration wash over Brady's face in various shades of red and pink. He flicked his eyes down at me, sighed, then waved for us to come in. Maribelle gave us the more proper invitation.

"Please come in." She said, her tone as quick and measured as ever.

I glanced at Anna, and she shrugged back to me.

_Just roll with it. _I surmised by the look she gave me and the roll of her shoulders. _Got it._

The inside of the tent was lavishly furnished for… well, a tent. There was nice, wooden furniture stained a dark brown color. A few chairs, with blue cushions so they would be comfortable to sit on, sat around an empty circular table. A bookshelf with several heavy volumes with cracked bindings rested against the far wall of the tent. There was a small circle in the ceiling of the tent, near the center, for a personal fire, and a firepit sat beneath it. A fire burned in the pit, helping to keep the tent warm. A few rugs rested in what was essentially a common room in the large tent. Faint, water stains littered the rugs from where snow melted due to boots stomping over them.

Maribelle shivered as she wrapped her very expensive looking coat tighter around her body. While Brady took a seat at the dining table, Maribelle shuffled over towards the fire, where a kettle hissed at a boil.

"Tea?" She asked me and Anna.

"What kin-"

Anna jabbed my side with her elbow, silencing me, "Sure, Maribelle."

Maribelle nodded and took the kettle towards the table, "Brady, some mugs please."

"Got it Ma." Maribelle glared at him, "Mother!" He quickly corrected.

Maribelle nodded. When the mugs were put on the table, she quietly poured the tea as me and Anna took a seat at the table. Once our mugs were full, Maribelle set the kettle down, sat down in her seat, grabbed her mug with one dainty hand (pinky up to boot), and sighed as the steam from the tea drifted up her nose.

"Naga what I'd give for some lemongrass." Maribelle sipped her drink. A faint cringe crossed her lips, then she set her mug down, "Feroxi tea is very bitter. Unfortunately, there is no sugar available at the moment."

Anna's eyes lit up. She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed when Maribelle gave her a knowing look.

"You were about to try and sell us sugar, weren't you?"

Anna tapped her fingers against the tabletop, "_Maybe_." She shrugged, "I mean, I still got a bag or two. For a pretty good price too."

Maribelle offered her a courteous smile. One I knew well. I used to get that fake grin all the time when I was doorknocking for my job back home. It was a look that said, 'You've wasted my time, but I'm not mean enough to tell you outright. So I'll give you a backhanded pat on the back and a cold smile instead'. It made me shift in my seat uncomfortably.

_What a weird thought to have._

Anna sipped her tea. Her eyes gave me a sidelong look as she sipped, signaling me to do the same. Brady snorted as I clumsily grabbed the mug, nearly spilled its contents, then brought it to my lips. A slight slurp came from my mouth as the boiling liquid hit my tongue. I winced, feeling my tongue burn as the hot tea quickly ran down my throat.

"Mmmmm…" I tried to hide the pain. My efforts weren't working, because Brady was red in the face from trying to hold in his laughter. Meanwhile, Maribelle looked at me with narrowed eyes and a bit of a frown, "Tasty."

_How is that more bitter than black coffee!?_

"So, Anna, what brings you to our abode?" Maribelle asked as she took another sip of tea.

Anna flicked her eyes around the tent common area. Her brow furrowed as she seemed to not find what she was looking for.

"Is he around?"

Brady's face turned ashen. Maribelle froze mid sip. Anna returned her gaze to Maribelle while I stayed silent in my seat, unsure of what to do now that everyone looked petrified.

Maribelle set her teacup down. Her hand trembled a little. When she did not answer, Anna frowned and leaned forward in her seat, as if reiterating her question to Maribelle from a shorter distance would force an answer faster.

"Is Donnel here?" Anna asked.

My eyes widened.

_Oh… that's why we're here? _I screwed my face up, puzzled, _What does that have to do with teaching me?_

Maribelle looked like she just sucked on a lemon. Her fingers tapped along the table as her entire body tensed up in her seat. Brady eyes darted back and forth between Maribelle and Anna.

"Why?" Maribelle asked.

Anna nodded at me, "He needs training."

Maribelle frown turned to a scowl, "Donnel doesn't teach, and he doesn't go into battle after… after Themis. He's too-"

"Ma-er- Mother, he ain't that bad." Brady interjected, "He-"

Maribelle shot her son a furious glare. One that made the cleric shrink back in his seat. Maribelle regained her previous, high posture. While she did not allow any anger to overtly show, I could tell she was livid. Her knuckles were white around the handle of her teacup. While her jaw was not clenched, I could see her other arm was flexed; meaning her other hand was clenched in her lap. That and her eyes… you can never mistake anger in the eyes. Call it human instinct kicking in from the stone age, but I could tell she wanted to tear Anna apart for daring to bring up Donnel.

Before Maribelle could speak any further, I heard feet shuffling in a small section of the tent blocked off by a paper screen. A loud yawn came from it, followed by someone smacking their lips, then shuffling out into the common area.

A man, about in his late thirties, shuffled into the main room. Heavy bags sat under his eyes. Thick stubble lined his chin, jaw, and lips. His violet hair was unruly and snarled from a restless sleep. Despite the cold, he didn't wear a shirt, exposing a ghost white torso with thick, long scars running in large pink lines over his chest, stomach, and shoulders. But what my eyes were really drawn to was the complete lack of a right hand. Instead, he had a stump at the elbow, covered up by heavy cloth bandages. His breath reeked of alcohol as he let out a silent, rancid belch while he shuffled past me and Anna over to Maribelle's side.

He paused next to Maribelle, and gave me and Anna a look through half lidded, glazed over eyes.

"Howdy Anna." He muttered, one hand rubbing his right eye as he yawned. Maribelle flinched a little as his drunken breath rushed out.

Anna did not miss a beat, "Donnel, it is good to see you. How are you feeling? Better I hope?"

Donnel gave her a look that was somewhere between a grimace and a grin, "Corn whiskey's good for getting rid of pain, and bad memories. Unfortunately, the barrel went missing last night." Brady sharnk even further in his seat, "Settled for firewine instead."

Anna shrugged, not bothered at all by Donnel being a drunk, "Whatever works. I can get you some more by the-"

"And you won't." Maribelle said, her voice shaking as she spoke. I swear her hand was squeezing the handle to her cup so hard she was going to break it off, "Because right now, we have other things to worry about."

"Like what, Mari?" Donnel asked as he leaned against a tent post along the tent wall.

Maribelle exhaled through her nose as her lips remained pressed tight together, "Anna has a proposal for you."

"Already married." Donnel grunted.

My jaw dropped, but Anna took it in stride. She snickered lightly at Donnel's comment, eliciting a slight smile from him. Maribelle looked like she was about ready to toss the table across the room. Poor Brady sank further in his seat, and I could not help but feel some sympathy for him.

"Happily, I hope?" Anna pointed out, putting on a merchant's charm that I envied. If I could roll with the flow of a conversation as well as she could at my old job, I wouldn't have had to ride the bus to work. I would have had a car of my own, "But that is not my proposal, Donnel." She jabbed her thumb back at me, "I've got a trainee here." Donnel's face hardened, "And… the amount of force behind his punches is equivalent to a wet noodle."

"Anna, I appreciate you coming by," Maribelle said, her voice trembling as she got to her feet, abandoning her tea on the table, "But Donnel is in no-"

"No, no," Donnel cut her off with a wave of his hand. He gestured for Anna to continue, "Let me hear this."

Maribelle seethed, but decided to sink back down to her seat. Anna took a breath, put on a bright smile, then continued.

"So, Donnel, what I was thinking-"

"Cut the crap." Donnel interrupted harshly, "I don't need to be sold, Anna. I need to know what you want."

Anna's bit grin wavered. Finally, she sighed, sank back in her seat, then returned to the Anna I knew. A grouchy, jaded merchant forced into the role of a behind enemy lines scout. She took a deep breath.

"Alright, fine." She nodded over to me, "Sam is about to be the only scout in the Shepherds. He needs extensive combat training. I don't trust Frederick to do it, and I'm still recovering due to injuries received in the field."

"Why not Sully?" Donnel asked.

"She's in Ylisstol, severely wounded." Anna answered. She gave Maribelle a puzzled look, "You didn't tell him?"

"Sully's been hurt?" Donnel said before Maribelle could respond. A flash of betrayal rushed over his face as Maribelle refused to meet his hurt gaze, "How bad?"

Anna grimaced, "Badly, but Lissa and the other healers assured us she would recover. It'll just take time, hence why I haven't gone to her." She cleared her throat, "Believe me, Donnel, I would not have come to you or your family about this unless I had no other option."

"What about Gaius?" Donnel asked.

Hurt flashed over Anna's face. She shot a look of complete disbelief over at Maribelle, who now refused to meet Anna's gaze.

"Are you-" Anna shook her head and fell back against the back of her chair, "Wow…"

"He's dead." I finally spoke up, trying to keep the conversation moving forward before a fight broke out between two very angry women, "Died saving Princess Lucina from captivity in Port Ferox."

Donnel blinked, "C-captivity in-" He looked completely shell shocked, "Mari, why haven't I-"

Maribelle slammed her hands down on the table, "I think it is time you both left."

"No, they ain't leaving!" Donnel snapped, forcing Maribelle to go rigid in her seat.

Maribelle clenched and unclenched her hands, "Donny, please you're still-"

Donnel flashed her a harsh look that instantly silenced her. This Donnel was not someone I expected. Donnel in the game was one of the most cheerful playable characters. A loveable farm boy who rose in the ranks to become a great Shepherd of Ylisse. He was not a drunk, oblivious, broken soldier. Certainly not someone who snapped at the woman he cared about in game.

_What the hell happened in Themis?_

Donnel pushed himself away from the pillar. He took a few purposeful steps towards me and Anna, then nodded specifically at me.

"Stand up." He muttered.

I hesitated, "I uh- well-"

"Stand up!" Donnel barked.

I shot up in my seat, my hairs standing on end from how forceful he sounded. There was a blaze in his eyes now. A feral look that made my stomach churn with anxiety. He got closer to me. So close I could smell the alcohol lacing his breath as it took over the cold air I breathed in. He wasn't much taller than me. Maybe three or four inches. But there was an intimidating presence to him that reminded me all too much of a family member of mine that… well… like I told Anna, let's just drop the subject on that one.

Donnel looked me up and down as I stood before him, pale as a sheet.

"Him?" He asked Anna.

Anna shrugged, "Gaius saw something in him. And… well… he's got courage. Fool's courage, but courage nonetheless."

"Courage gets ya killed in your line of work." Donnel grunted.

Anna nodded in agreement, "He's slowly figuring that out."

Donnel nodded his head as he stared down at me. I swallowed hard as his unblinking stare tore through me. It felt like he was deconstructing me. Trying to make me break with just a look. And to be honest, I felt like it was working.

His gaze remained hard, like stone, as he drew back from me.

"He's been in combat?"

Anna nodded, "Has two Risen kills to his name."

"That's it?" Donnel replied, one brow raised.

Anna rolled her eyes, "He's only been with us a few months, Donnel."

Donnel snorted, "And you expect me to have him ready to fight those buggers? How? Kid looks like he can barely lift a sword. Hell, bet ya he can't even lift his own arms for long."

_Why does he have to be right?_

"I'm not asking you to teach him swordplay. Although, if we get to that point, I wouldn't mind." Anna remarked, "He's hopeless at hand to hand. He lost his weapons in the last fight we were in, so he needs to know how to take care of himself.

Donnel clicked his tongue, "Cardinal sin there. Can't be doing that." He glanced at Anna, "So you want me to teach him how to roll in the mud then? Throw a proper punch?"

Anna nodded. From the way Donnel had been sizing me up I expected him to say no. To dismiss Anna's proposal and declare me a lost cause from just a look. Instead, I got a toothy, dangerous grin that made a pit form in my gut.

"Oh…" His one hand clapped my shoulder hard, "I'm gonna have fun with you."

A cold sweat beaded on my forehead and I swallowed hard. There was a dangerous gleam in Donnel's eyes. That gleam alone, the stench on his breath, all told me that the Donnel I was familiar with in the game did not exist now. Not after… whatever happened to him. But, Anna trusted him to teach me in her stead, while she recovered. That had to mean something, right?

_Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?_

"L-looking forward to it."

**And chapter! Part 1 of the 2 part RIGGED QUARANTINE DUAL UPLOAD! That's right folks! Two chapters at once! Because we're all bored, and I cranked out a crap ton of content while pent up inside! These are longer chapters too!**

**Also, say hello to the ruined future's Donnel! Him and Sam are going to be having some interactions, and it should be interesting to see how they interact with each other. Meanwhile, everyone else is gearing up for Grima. We'll see what happens when that finally goes down. Poor Sam is not going to know what hit him.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!  
Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is:**** 9XG3U7a**


	20. Down from the Sky

**AN: This is part two of my Quarantine dual upload folks! Make sure you read Chapter 19 first! :)**

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 20

Down from the Sky

My body fell hard onto the frozen, undisturbed snow just beyond the fringes of the Army camp surrounding Arena Ferox. It must've looked like something out of a Loony Tunes cartoon, because I saw several inches of snow surrounding me while I lay there, looking up at a crystal clear sky. Snow puffed up around me from the sudden impact of my body slamming into it. For a split second I struggled to catch my breath, then I groaned. Aches and pains ran through my muscles, pain lanced through my back, running along my shoulder blades and down my arms as more bruises were born.

_I miss Frederick_.

"Get up already." Donnel grunted as he stalked over to me, hand on his hip, "Ain't done yet for the morning."

I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath through my nose. It has been a week since I began training under Donnel. Training in a way that I never could have fathomed. I expected him to maybe teach me swordplay, he was a knight after all. I did not expect to be tossed around like a ragdoll as I learned how to kill someone with my bare hands.

Worst yet, Donnel didn't do any actual instruction. At least, none that I could think of. Back in my world, if you took a martial art, you spent more time going through the motions of a technique than actually using it in sparring. At least that was my experience as an eight year old in karate class back in the day.

Donnel did not waste time going through the motions with me. He showed me what he was going to do, did it to me, then expected me to replicate the technique on him, while he was defending himself. Every single time I tried to fight him, I ended up on my ass. A familiar feeling at this point. Especially since that was how I ended up whenever I trained with Anna.

Speaking of Anna, she was here too. She was watching off to the side. A silent observer, scrutinizing every detail. Unlike before, when Gaius was teaching me, there were no playful jabs at my physical incompetence. There was only her silent gaze, and a nod for me to continue fighting Donnel.

At this rate, Donnel's going to break me in half before I actually learn anything.

Donnel uttered a loud huff as I remained on my back. To my surprise, for the first time since we started training together, he held out his hand to me. Offering to help me to my feet. I blinked, then reached out and gripped his hand. With a single, sharp tug, he yanked my scrawny ass to my feet.

Then he buried a knee in my gut. All the air in my lungs shot free, and a hoarse moan escaped with it. I dropped to my knees, doubled over in pain. My forehead kissed the trampled snow on the ground, I squeezed my eyes shut, and wheezed.

"Cheap-" I wheezed, "shot."

"Oh?" Donnel remarked. He stalked up beside me. All I could see were his ice crusted boots as he stood in front of me, "Cheap shot eh?" One rough, calloused hand gripped me by the back of my jerkin and yanked me to my feet, even though I was still out of breath. I stared into Donnel's wide, feral gaze as his hand whipped over to my jaw and gripped it hard, "Do ya think Grima's Risen, his dark mages, or the brigands that fight for him, give a damn about fair shots?" His grip on my jaw tightened, "Do ya?"

I swallowed hard as a pit of fear lingered in my still aching gut. The fear rose to my eyes, and that seemed to count as an answer for Donnel. His hand slid from my jaw.

"We go again."

"I think he might need a break."

I blinked as Anna spoke up for the first time all morning. My shock grew when I realized she was telling Donnel to give me a rest. If Anna thinks this was going far enough, then really had crossed the boundaries on what was physically dangerous.

"There any breaks on the battlefield, Anna?" Donnel shot back, turning to look at her.

Anna did not say anything right away. I simply saw her eyes narrow dangerously at Donnel. Donnel took an anxious step back from her as she rose from her seat position and took several steps towards him, one hand tapping a knife sheathed on her hip.

"Talk back to me again, farmboy, and I'll give you a fair fight." She nodded at me, "You've been beating on him since daybreak. He's getting better, but pounding on him relentlessly will only exhaust him, not teach him."

When Anna is being the reasonable one… oh God, I've never thought of this scenario before.

Donnel eyed Anna, then glanced down at me. A loud huff rushed from his lungs, and he shook his head.

"Fine." He grumbled.

"Good." Anna nodded, "Besides, it's about time for the daily briefing."

"Daily briefing?" I echoed, puzzled.

"Yup." She patted my shoulder and guided me away from Donnel, "We'll be back in a few hours Donnel."

"I'll be here." He grunted as he moved towards a wooden stool brought out for either him or Anna to sit on.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw him wince as he sat down. He rolled one shoulder, and I felt a small measure of victory shoot through me. I must've bruised him at some point when he was telling me to throw him over my shoulder. Kinda like how action heroes tossed around nameless grunts in action movies. The sort of thing I thought was highly unrealistic, until I realized that A: Jackie Chan really does those kinds of moves, and B: Those moves are possible, but they hurt. Especially for someone who has as little physical strength as I do.

Despite the aches and pains I felt, of which there were many- some in places I did not think could hurt this much- I did feel some accomplishment. That small wince I saw on Donnel's face as he sat down was enough to make all of the bruises worth it.

"Don't get too confident." Anna noted as I walked beside her. She must've noticed the sudden spring in my step, "Donnel's probably hurting from old wounds, not your fists."

My feet crunched along the ice and gravel of the main road that led towards the Arena. Not the first time since I started training with Donnel, I walked alongside a group of Feroxi refugees filtering in from the surrounding countryside. Risen attacks had spiked in the region due to the loss of Port Ferox, and the civilians knew that one of the last safe places they could flee to was the grand Arena. As we walked by one cluster of refugees, I bumped shoulders with someone wearing an old, torn up, purple and black coat. His hood was drawn, so I did not get a good look as I spun around to apologize. I never got the chance to say anything though, because Anna twirled me back around so I would stay in lockstep with her.

My mind quickly left the refugee I bumped into and instead returned to what I thought was a triumphant moment over Donnel, as well as Anna's comment about my slowly growing confidence.

I frowned back, "Can't have a moment of victory, can I?"

Anna guffawed, "Victory? When you knock that farmboy out, I'll let you declare victory." She whipped her head back up to the Arena as we marched towards the main entry, "Till then, I'm still going to keep you grounded."

"For how long?" I blurted out as the Arena's shadow passed over us, blotting out the morning sun.

Anna paused next to the entryway, "We'll find out, won't we?"

I blinked, "We?"

Anna nodded, "I'm still here, aren't I? I may not be doing missions anymore, but I'm sure Lissa and Tiki won't mind my expertise being involved in the briefings. Besides, I want to know what is going on, and the daily briefings are the only way I'm going to know. And if Frederick tries to kick me out, he'll find our real quick how bad an idea that is."

We marched into the Arena and quickly scaled the stone steps to the top floor. The Khan's door was thrown open as two guards flanked it. Several captains from Feroxi and Ylissean units milled outside of it, most of whom I did not recognize. I did notice Raimi talking off to the side, near a railing, with Frederick. No doubt discussing how to best utilize their soldiers to fend off a possible attack on Arena Ferox. Of course, the attack and defense from it depended entirely on the location.

I glanced out from the corridor to the sweeping, snow laden countryside. It was mostly flat which, under normal circumstances, would have been an advantage for us. It gave us a clear view of the surrounding land for miles and miles. Any army that wanted to attack the Arena, the small village it sheltered, and the massive army camp surrounding it, would be spotted well before it could slam into our positions.

But these were not normal circumstances. Monsters fought for the enemy, and the enemy itself was the greatest of all monsters. Grima was basically the god of death and destruction in this world. The devil to Naga's saint. Conventional battle wisdom likely did not matter anymore. Not that I understood much of it, which was probably why Anna was tagging along to this briefing.

While she did not want anything to do with the Archanean army anymore, she still took it upon herself to prepare me for my role in the Shepherds. That included educating me on the inner workings of the military. When Donnel was not beating the piss out of me I spent my time learning the intricacies of scouting from Anna. She could not do many of the physical stuff due to her still recovering wounds, but she managed to procure a chalkboard from Miriel and used it to draw up scenarios that I needed to figure my way out of. Most of the time I failed, and she'd berate me, but that was all part of learning I suppose.

During the early hours of the evening, she'd give me a task to do. The task always had to do with gathering information. Listening in on someone: a guard, a stablemaster, a pegasus knight, figure out what they are doing and if it would be considered pertinent information for the army. Or, I would be tasked with finding something important written down by someone: whether that was Miriel, Laurent, Frederick, or Raimi, and make a quick copy of the relevant intel on the report I was tasked with finding. This part I was actually decent at, much to Anna's surprise. Turns out, being forced to write notes from a quickly moving powerpoint did wonders at teaching how to copy important information. Add in Gaius's sneaking training he gave me, and more often than not, I accomplished the objective.

But this was new for me. This was an actual military briefing. One that occured daily, and one I had not been invited to yet. I did have my two briefings after rescuing Lucina from Port Ferox, but I figured those were a matter of procedure and were required for me to attend. I only ever heard Anna mutter and grumble about these daily briefings, unable to properly glean what happened in them from her incoherent, irritated rumblings. So I figured these briefings covered the boring day to day happenings in a massive army. Troops numbers and positions, supply rationing and dividing, the news, stuff like that.

Judging by how Anna hesitated at the top of the steps, I got the sense that this daily briefing would be different than normal. She furrowed her brow, observed the seemingly tense captains huddled in the large corridor, then nodded for me to follow her towards Frederick and Raimi.

Both warriors appeared surprised to see Anna approaching them, with me in tow.

"The fact that you still come to these boggles my mind." Frederick grumbled as Anna leaned against the railing beside him, lazily resting her shoulders on the stone, "I thought you were done with us?"

Anna frowned, "I'm done, yeah. I'm not going out to do the dirty work anymore." She nodded at me, "But I'm not done with Sam yet. He's not ready, and I intend to do the best I can to make him ready before my boat goes."

Raimi raised her brow, "Anna doing everything she can to help another person? The end of the world really has arrived."

Anna snorted at that, along with Raimi, "I've always helped people." Anna replied, "I just tended to do it in exchange for gold, and lots of it." She flicked her eyes over to the Khan's open door, "What's going on?"

"The Exalt and Lady Tiki are alone with Morgan and Khan Flavia at the moment." Frederick replied, tone stiff and guarded.

Anna nodded, waiting for Frederick to continue. When he did not she huffed and glanced over at Raimi.

"Strategy stuff." Raimi replied.

"Without us?" Anna asked, puzzled.

"I share your confusion." Raimi nodded.

Footsteps clicked against the cold stone floor, and I turned to see Lissa exit the Khan's chambers. She took a breath as she addressed all of us.

"We're ready." She stated.

I glanced over at Anna, who was looking at me, equally puzzled. Normally, that was a very bad sign. If Anna was as confused as I was, then there was something strange and worrisome afoot.

All of us filtered into the Khan's chambers, with me and Anna entering last. The sweltering heat of the room hit me again, though not as harshly as it had before. A brilliant fire crackled in the large stone fireplace. The windows were latched closed, sealing in the heat. A large table sat at the foot of the khan's bed, once again laden with maps, quills, and half empty inkwells. I could see Morgan's scribbling over some maps that lay beneath a fresh, unblemished map of Arena Ferox.

Libra lingered near Khan Flavia's bedside. The great Khan lay in her bed, not propped up by pillows. Her eyes were open, but her breathing shallow and weak. Her eyes flitted to the people around her. Tiki stood beside Libra, hands folded in front of her red tunic. Lissa took a spot on the other side of the bed, near the foot of it. Morgan was beside her. Lingering behind both of them were the other three royal children. Lucina looked even gaunter standing up. Although, I noticed a lot more color in her cheeks, which was an encouraging sign. Her sister, Cynthia, stood beside her with a bored pout on her lips. Owain was on the other side of Cynthia, his eyes looking about in wonder as he attended what might be his first military meeting.

"Well?" Her voice came from her mouth in a quiet whisper, barely audible to me, "Let's get on with it. Ain't got all day."

Morgan nodded as she stepped forward, "Right. So um…uh…" She flicked her eyes back to Lissa, who gave her an encouraging nod, "Well, for the past week we have been discussing the imminent threat of an attack by the Fell Dragon and his forces. The possibility of an attack here has grown due to the amount of refugees fleeing here. Clearly his horde is wreaking havoc in the surrounding country." She tapped a region on the map to the northwest of the Arena, "Particularly to the northwest, where most of the refugees have been coming from."

"So we can expect Grima's assault from the northwest?" One Ferox captain spoke up.

Khan Flavia's eyes blazed momentarily, "You gonna let the girl speak, or not?"

Silence in return.

"Good." Flavia croaked as she sank into her pillows, "I better not have to raise my voice again."

Morgan cleared her throat, "Thanks Khan Flavia." She returned her attention to the map, "If this were an ordinary war, with an ordinary opponent, then yes, that would be the logical source for an enemy attack. That is where we suspect the enemy army is, after all. But," She took a breath as she surveyed the room of hardened warriors. Most were double her age, and with a wealth of battlefield experience compared to her. But Morgan had the genetics on her side. She was Robin's daughter, and the brains passed down to her. Thus, everyone, including Exalt Lissa, Tiki, and Khan Flavia, listened to her intently, "we are not engaged with a normal enemy. Grima has been a step or two ahead of us for this entire war. Always keeping us off balance, always keeping us on the backfoot in the war. Until now."

She nodded at me to step forward with Anna. I gave Anna a puzzled look, but she nudged me forward.

"Thanks to the brave exploits of our scouts within the Shepherds, we may have finally caught a break." Morgan spread her hands out on the table, the paper map crinkling beneath her splayed palms, "They uncovered intel that confirms Grima will not strike where we know an obvious attack should come from. In fact, the intel claims that Grima will strike from where we least expect."

Owain arched an eyebrow next to Lucina. It was obvious he wanted to speak up, but Lucina gave him a look that told him to remain quiet. Like a dutiful soldier, he did so, salute and all. Which made Lucina laugh quietly to herself. Cynthia meanwhile, looked completely confused by the proceedings.

"So… after much deliberation, we believe we may have determined where Grima could possibly strike."

Morgan tapped a region of the map to the southeast, causing some murmurs to rise up among the captains in the room. She cleared her throat, trying to regain their attention. When that failed, Raimi's booming voice thundered out.

"Silence!" The intimidating Feroxi Captain bellowed.

Morgan gave Raimi a small nod, "Thank you. Now, I suggest we shore up our defenses along the southeast of our encampment-"

"How could Grima completely circumvent us without us knowing?" One captain interrupted, earning a frown from Lissa and a scowl from Raimi. Nevertheless, his question hung in the air, waiting for an answer.

Morgan frowned at the question. A large frown, as if the very thought of someone doubting her annoyed her. She drew in a deep breath, and exhaled.

"I don't think we should be underestimating what Grima or his armies are capable of, that includes how they move."

"Wouldn't that mean any route of escape southward has been cut off?" Another Captain called out, causing Lissa's eyes to widen.

Anna frowned at that question. I could feel my body growing tenser at the thought of no escape. If Grima really did sweep southward, and we had no escape, then this battle at Arena Ferox may end up being a last stand. I swallowed hard as that thought hit me harder than the bus did.

_I'm really not ready for this._

"We need to retreat while we can!"

"Retreat? Retreat where? Grima has cut us off, or so those scouts say."

I bristled as I heard that one. I noticed Anna scowl as she heard that remark over the general din of worry in the room.

"Perhaps we could surrender? Maybe the Fell Dragon-"

"Are ya mad!?"

"Best for us to all lie down and die now. Peaceful way to go that way."

Before Morgan could grow more irritated as more questions were thrown at her, Lucina stepped forward, silencing the other captains in the room with a steely gaze. One of her hands rested on Falchion's pommel as she observed the room.

"What is this?" She asked, "All of a sudden questioning how to fight our greatest enemy?" She scoffed, "And you call yourselves Feroxi warriors and Ylissean knights?" She started pacing in front of the table, a hard look on her face as she stared down each Captain, "Did we ever fail in the face of the enemy before? Did we wilt at Themis? Did we falter at the Longfort?" Her hand tightened around Falchion's grip, "When you all fought for my father, and for Khan Basilio, did you hesitate in the dunes of Plegia, or in the molten slag of Demon's Ingle?" She shook her head, "No, you did not. You stood tall! Stood strong! Faced the enemy sword in one hand, shield in the other, and a grin on your faces, ready to greet victory." She turned to look at me, "No situation is hopeless. I have realized this, after being captured, chained, and tortured, only to, beyond all odds, be rescued by a few brave scouts and friends. Just as my situation in Port Ferox was not hopeless, neither is this. For the first time in this entire war, we know what may be coming." She took a deep breath and glanced over at Raimi, Tiki, and Frederick, "So let us prepare."

Lissa cleared her throat, "Morgan will be handing out individual unit assignments for defense of the Arena. Any concerns will be directed to myself, Knight Commander Frederick, or Captain Raimi."

The murmurs turned into captains nodding and saluting their leaders. As they moved to the table to receive their orders, the doors to the Khan's quarters flew open.

"My Khan!"

I twirled around, along with everyone else, and my breath lodged in my throat.

A Feroxi soldier stumbled into the room. Fresh blood caked his iron armor and fur clothes. His face lacked color as it was stolen away by terror. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, and frantic. He staggered into the room as quiet murmurs rose higher among the captains.

Khan Flavia tried to sit up to answer, but her body sagged down due to the strain of the attempt. As a pained look rested on her dark, sweating face, Raimi stepped up to the frantic soldier.

"You're a sentry from the Northwest…" She observed, "What happened?"

"R-Risen-" Morgan's eyes widened as the man stammered, "They arrived in force."

"Wh-what?" Morgan looked down at her maps as she flung the clean one from the table, knocking over several inkwells and staining the other maps adn the table black with ink, "B-but the intelligence, the logic-"

"Logic be damned now." Raimi growled out, "The attack has arrived." She moved towards the door, the Feroxi captains trailing behind her, "To the Northwest!" She bellowed before turning to another captain, "Sound the alarm, and get the civilians inside of the Arena."

"Knights, with me!" Frederick barked as he gripped his sword and marched out of the Khan's quarters. Lissa trailed after him as a pair of young knights flanked her. Tiki strode out next, along with Anna.

I moved to follow Anna, along with Lucina, Cynthia, and Owain, but she spun around and stopped all four of us.

"You all stay here." She said.

Lucina frowned back, "I'm needed at the fron-"

"You're not ready for combat yet." Anna replied firmly, "And don't you backsass me about me not being ready either. I know my limits, and unfortunately you're a lot more important than me."

Screams started to sound from outside the Arena. They grew louder as refugees were funneled towards the massive Arena, with most taking shelter in the center. I stepped out into the corridor and noticed a mass stampede of civilians rushing for the shelter Arena Ferox provided. My throat bobbed, and I jumped when Anna smacked my shoulder.

"You make sure to keep those kids here. Protect the Khan too!"

Before I could say anything, she spun on her heel and raced down the stairs to join the fight. In the distance, I could hear shrieks that made my hair stand on end. Noises that I had unfortunately become familiar with. The horrifying screeches of Risen rising into a shuddering chorus on the frozen wind caused my heart to hammer in my chest. I instinctively reached for the long dagger on my hip. An action that earned a nod of approval from Lucina as she gripped Falchion against her hip.

My eyes darted around the room. Flavia used what little strength she had left to sit up in her bed, much to Libra's chagrin as he protested such an action. Flavia took his protests, sniffed at them, then of course cursed at him as he tried to get her to lie back down. Morgan remained paralyzed at the table, her eyes roving over the ink stained maps as she desperately tried to figure out where her planning went wrong. One hand ran up to her black hair, staining it even darker with ink as her fingers raked through her locks. Cynthia huddled close to Owain as the two cousins tried their best to not appear afraid. But I could see Cynthia's hand shaking near the sword on her hip, and I could see Owain's throat bobbing as the shrieks of Risen grew louder in the air.

Finally, Cynthia flinched as the sound of refugees screaming cracked her resolve.

"W-we can't just stay here!" She cried, tears building in her eyes.

"Indeed!" Owain nodded vehemently. He turned to Lucina, "We cannot remain here, cousin. Our parents, our friends, they will need our assistance. Misseltain must join them on the battlefield, else my fell sword hand will strike violently here instead of at the enemy."

"Stay it, Owain." Lucina replied, voice sharp and commanding.

I could see the wheels turning in the Princess's mind as she pondered what to do. Does she disobey Anna, or does she risk her wrath and join the battle? With a clench in her jaw, and a slow exhale, I knew the answer. I also knew that the only way I would stop Lucina from fighting for her people was to fight her myself.

Given how skilled she is in the game, that ain't happening.

I was not interested in getting my ass kicked by two different people today. Sorry Anna, but I'm gonna have to fail you on this one. But that doesn't mean I can't try to appeal to their better senses.

"Not a good idea." I muttered, drawing Lucina's ire as she flashed me a rare, anger filled look.

"Why not? They're my people and-"

"And if you go out there, in your condition, you are very likely to die." I quickly countered, "You're not at full strength and-"

Lucina stormed over to Libra, yanked a Vulnerary that he had into his hands, and poured it's contents down her throat. She carefully handed the empty vial back to Libra then shot me a steely gaze.

"My father wouldn't let wounds stop him, so I won't be stopped by them either." She marched to the door, "Cynthia, Owain!"

"R-right!" They both stammered in unison, following her out.

I uttered a small groan. I could not stop them, but damn it I did have to try. With words of course, because there was no way I was beating these three in a fight. Hell the last time I fought Cynthia, she broke my knee. I was not interested in repeating that experience.

"G-guys!" I followed them out, and the scent of smoke slammed into me. The panicked noises of thousands of refugees filtering into the Arena filled my ears, making it so that I could barely hear myself speak, "You can't just-"

The door to the stairs closed behind them, and I cursed. I doubted I could even catch up to them. Hell, with the fact that the sun was gone, I didn't even know which way was northeast.

_Wait a fucking moment_!

I leaned out over the railing of the Arena and turned my head up. To my horror, the Sun had been completely blotted out by a sudden surge of pitch black clouds. Lightning bolts arched through the clouds, and thunder rumbled after each bolt. An unnatural chill swept through the air. Unlike the normal cold of Regna Ferox, this cold sank its claws into my core. Twisting into my body like a sharp knife and making fear swell within me. The shrieks of Risen grew louder, now joined by the cacophony of metal striking metal loudly on the other side of the Arena.

My entire body shuddered as I struggled to keep myself from panicking. Meanwhile, Morgan quietly stepped out of the Khan's room, face ashen and eyes wide.

"Grima's shadow."

I glanced back at her, then back up at the sky.

"What does that mean?" I wondered out loud.

Morgan gulped, "He's here personally."

I froze. The Fell Dragon, here… himself. The unholy force of nature that was Grima was leading his armies into battle? Well, of course he would! It's just my luck that I'm stuck at the top floor of a stone coliseum with only one way out of this floor while the apocalypse bringing lizard arrives.

"Really great nickname, Gaius." I muttered under my breath.

Alarmed cries caught my ears, followed by brief, final screams of life in the nearby stairwell. I tensed, my hand tightening around my long dagger as I stared wide eyed at the closed doorway. A dull thud hit it, and I swore I saw smoke spiraling from the nearly frozen wood. Morgan must have noticed it too, because she yanked me by the hood of my cloak into the Khan's quarters.

"Libra!"

"Something is coming." Libra nodded to Morgan as he hefted a steel ax. He tossed Morgan his healing staff, "I heard the screams. Stay in here, both of you. Lock the doors, and protect the Khan."

The door slammed shut behind him, and I heard the lock click. Once it clicked, Morgan moved, rushing over to the heavy table and attempting to drag it over to the door.

"Help!" She snapped at me.

I jumped and raced to help her. My muscles strained as I tried to move the table closer to the door. I heard the legs rumble along the floor before getting snagged on the fur rug on the floor, nearly causing me and Morgan to tip the table over. I let out a frustrated sound.

"I need to workout more!"

"Shh!"

Morgan put a finger to her lips and my mouth snapped closed. We could barely hear the sounds of battle outside of the Arena, but there were other sounds drawing closer. Two people, speaking, one of them Libra. I furrowed my brow and pressed my ear to the door. He sounded… shocked, stunned, positively stupefied. His shock turned to anger, and I heard steel whistle through the air.

The hair on my arms stood on end as static filled the air. Bright light flashed beyond the door, and I heard something hit the door with a hard thud. Morgan gulped beside me, her hands trembling as she gripped her spellbook. I couldn't hear Libra talking anymore as a set of footsteps approached.

"Did he-"

Morgan's eyes darted around, then landed on the doors that led to the balcony.

"We need to move the Khan." She whispered to me.

The doorknob shuddered, and I paled. Libra had the key. He wouldn't have to jiggle the doorknob in order to enter. Which means whoever was turning the doorknob was not the quiet priest.

Morgan and I sprinted over to Khan Flavia. I grabbed her left arm and looped it over my shoulders. In that moment, I felt how frail the once powerful woman really was. Hardly any muscles were left on her body. She looked like skin and bones, with a night gown draped over her like a baggy curtain. Her eyes were wide and she looked near delirious. A series of harsh coughs wracked her lungs, and blood bubbled from her throat, down her chin and neck.

"Leave… me." She managed to gasp between coughs, "I'm dead in a day anyways." She glared at Morgan, "The balcony, you two… get there…" She weaky raised her arms from our grip and let them fall limply to her sides, "fast."

The doorknob jiggled harder. Then, to my alarm, someone knocked. A slight, playful, tap tap tap, that sounded way more menacing than friendly. Every instinct on my body screamed for me to flee as the bone chilling, terror filled cold I felt earlier grew even more intense. I leaked from the doorway as the doorknob jiggled one more time.

"Go!" Flavia hissed to us.

She did not have to say it twice. Morgan and I raced for the balcony doors. We threw them open. We did not have to shut them. Morgan hissed at me, and we pressed ourselves on either side, hiding our bodies from view within the room.

Deep shadows lingered over Port Ferox, but I could not see any signs of battle in front of me. Although I did see thousands of soldiers sprinting to the otherside of the Arena, weapons in hand. Some of them barely had their armor on. Horses whinnied and panicked in the chaos. Pegasi bolted into the air with their riders only in one stirrup. Grima had pulled off a surprise attack, and all Morgan and I could do was watch the response. We did not even know what was going on at the actual front.

Static built up in the air again, and I squeezed my eyes shut as a bright flash filled the Khan's room. I pressed my body further against the frozen stones on the wall behind me, trying to meld in with the darkness cast by Grima's Shadow, and the building itself. Morgan was doing the same, but she spun onto her side so that she could get a glimpse of the room.

The sounds of battle drifted farther away, and all I could hear was the sound of a door slamming to the ground as it was blasted off of its hinges. Next, I heard a body flop to the floor. Morgan's eyes widened and she mouthed Libra's name to me.

The priest was dead. But how? He seemed more than capable of handling whatever Risen charged into this area of the Arena.

"Sorry about the mess, Flavia."

I froze. Risen don't talk.

But this voice.

This voice.

Who was this speaking? I could not recognize it. It sounded vaguely familiar, but at the same time, not. I knew most of the Shepherds that were still alive by their voice. Hell, I recognized some just by how they sounded in the game. I knew Maribelle would sound posh and distinguished, if a bit agitated. I knew Gaius would sound relaxed and carefree. Lucina would sound strong, Cynthia would sound a bit naive and youthful, Owain… like Owain. But this voice I could not place. Why?

"Y-you…" Flavia croaked back, "H-how?"

Footsteps lazily moved closer to Khan Flavia's bedside. For a brief moment, Morgan caught a glimpse of what moved within the room, and I saw her face lose all color.

"No…" She breathed.

"Lots of things are possible for me, Flavia." The man within the room replied. I dared not look inside, for fear of being found.

_Small and inconspicuous. Be small… be small_…

The man uttered a heavy sigh, "It pains me greatly to see you like this, old friend. I remember when you were strong, and so full of bravado. Now look at you. Slowly being eaten alive by a poison you cannot stop."

"Y-you…" Flavia's croak sounded more like a wrathful snarl, "H-how could… you were supposed to be dead."

I heard the man sniff at that, "The man you knew is dead, and has been reborn better than before."

My heart froze in my chest. Only one person could claim to be dead then reborn in this world. Combine that with Morgan's reaction, and the fact that Libra was killed within seconds of leaving the room, and the horrifying truth slammed into me.

_ He's here_.

Morgan flicked her eyes away from the glass doors towards me. I could see fear in her gaze. She shrank back from the doors, stunned and terrified. I could not blame her. If it was who I thought it was speaking to Khan Flavia, then Morgan's entire worldview was just shattered.

Harsh coughs erupted from the great Khan's lungs.

"It won't be long now, will it?" The man muttered, "Perhaps it would be worse for me to just leave you to die. Let the poison claim you as your beloved symbol of power crumbles around you, until it becomes nothing more than a cracked shell made of stone, housing your dry bones. A memorial to the once great and powerful Khans." He sighed, "But… no fun like that today. I actually need to get some information from you."

My ears perked. Information, he needed intelligence. Why? What could Grima possibly want that he already did not have or could not already take? He strained my hearing, the training Anna gave me kicking into gear.

"Where is Gules?"

My eyes widened, and Morgan sucked in a sharp breath.

"I… don't know-"

The man chuckled darkly, "Oh, you know, Flavia. I know you do. I know Basilio gave to you at some point. The man would not have allowed it to fall into the Conqueror's hands all those years ago. So where is it?"

I swallowed some fear and dared to peak inside the room. My eyes widened as I saw a man, not much taller than me, standing before Khan Flavia's bed. He wore a ratty, black and purple coat. A torn and tattered garment that gave the man the appearance of a weary refugee. His hood was drawn, but beneath that hood, in the shadows drawn by it, I could see faint hints of white locks peaking out.

He laughed again, and bowed his head as Flavia replied with stubborn silence.

"Very well." He sighed, "It matters not at the moment anyways. The Awakening cannot be performed without all of the gemstones, and well… as long as I keep one away, then I win." He tugged on something on his gloved fingers. I furrowed my brow, trying to make out what he was fiddling with, "But I won't lose any sleep if I also destroy another."

I winced and shielded my eyes as a golden light erupted from the floor, around the cloaked man's feet. I knew it was magic just from the buzz I felt in the air, and from the sound of Morgan's breath hitching as she seemingly recognized the spell cast.

"Farewell, Flavia. I enjoyed our little reunion."

In a flash of light, he was gone.

I remained still a moment, scarcely believing my luck. Only for my bad luck to come back as I felt something terrible come through the air. I can hardly describe it, it felt so unnatural. Combine a shiver in your spine, as if fingers were crawling up and down it, with a sense of dread so intense that it twists your stomach tighter than a rope. That is what this overwhelming terror felt like.

An intense wind swirled in the air over the Arena, cycloning up into the sky like a frozen tornado. The stone railing on the balcony trembled, and my cloak whipped behind me as I shielded my face from the biting wind.

The ground beneath my feet trembled, and for a moment, I thought I heard the loudest peal of thunder I had ever heard in my life. But when the thunder dragged out longer, and louder with each passing moment, I realized it was not thunder.

Screams of horror rose like a bone chilling choir from the Arena. An ear splitting roar answered, and my gaze turned to the black sky.

Black wings spread out like a starless, moonless sky, blotting out lightning bolts that crawled along the dark clouds overhead. An enormous, scaly, black and purple body descended from the heavens. Six red eyes, the color of blood, adorned a long, black head that had a maw filled with fangs far longer than I was tall. As I gazed up at this monstrosity filling the sky over the Arena, maw gaping as it uttered another earth shattering roar, I could only think one thing.

_This is the end_.

"Grima…" Morgan breathed as she absent mindedly backed up towards the railing, her entire body trembling with primal fear.

A ball of purple and black light gathered in front of it's massive head. I saw those blood red eyes looking down at the Arena. The screams around me grew louder as the ball grew larger. My blood ran cold as I finally realized what was coming.

Fight or flight kicked in, and flight won that battle. But where could I run to? Only one place was left for me to escape. I spun on my heel and sprinted for the edge of the railing, deciding my chances of surviving a fall were better than surviving the devastating dragon fire that was about to rain down upon me.

I hit Morgan as I jumped, taking her with me as she screamed. It felt like we were suspended in the air for a few long moments. The ground came at me slowly as my life flashed before my eyes. The snow drifts below me grew larger. Morgan's screams grew quieter as the wind howled in my ears. I saw a flash of green magical energy whip out from my side, from Morgan, down to the ground, kicking up a violent updraft that wrenched me away from the young tactician, and flung me sideways. Before I hit the ground, the world vibrated. Bright light blinded me. Overwhelming heat swarmed over my body. A shockwave plucked me from my path and tossed me through the air like a ragdoll.

I screamed, then I met the icy earth.

* * *

My fingers felt numb. I could feel ice crusted along my fingertips, stuck beneath my fingernails, caked in the creases of my palms. I could feel more sticking to my eyelashes as my eyes struggled to flutter open. My vision was blurry. With every breath I took, darkness crept along the fringes of my sight, threatening to claim me once again. The pain I felt in my sides and my chest was what kept me awake.

The first thing I saw clearly was snow, melting in front of me. The large drift I landed in was turning dark with mud and… smoke?

Is that exhaust? I wondered. The snow looked an awful lot like how it did when a plow came through my street back home. Was I waking up from some nightmare, or dream? Was I about to see a bus driver stooped over me, ready to perform CPR on my barely alive body?

I heard a roar, and assumed it was a truck, a car, something rumbling along a salt covered road. Darkness washed over my sight, and I felt lightheaded. The roar erupted through my ear drums again, reminding me more of a jet plane screaming on a tarmac rather than a truck racing along the road. Joining that roar were terrified screams, dying cries, and unholy shrieks.

A hand slapped my back and flipped me over, and I stared directly into the glowing, ruby eyes of a walking corpse.

_Oh God!_

Instincts kicked in. The flash of a blade over my head caught my eye, and I raised my hands, catching the Risen's arms as it stabbed down with a rusted sword. For a walking pile of bones, sinew, and skin, it had a shocking amount of strength. Rancid, rotten breath seeped into my nose from it's gaping mouth as it hissed at me. I grit my teeth, ignored the intense pain in my sides, and struggled against it.

The Risen reared back, and my eyes widened. I knew what was coming. At the last second, I jerked my head to the side as the Risen slammed all of its weight against its blade.

My arms sagged, and I gasped as I heard the rusting sword sink into the snow centimeters from my head. I reacted quickly as more adrenaline shot through my body. I buried a knee into it's stomach, causing the monster to hiss, then I reached up, screamed, and twisted it's rotten head till it faced the sky instead of me. I heard bones crack in it's decomposing neck, making my stomach roll.

The Risen scrambled back, completely disoriented by my counter attack. It's sudden drop back gave me room to surge to my feet. I jumped to a crouch, drew my long dagger, and pounced on the Risen, pinning it to the frozen ground. I felt my blade shudder as I embedded it in its skull. With gritted teeth, I twisted the blade, and felt the Risen stop struggling beneath me. After a couple seconds, it sagged, and turned to black ash beneath me, staining the icy flakes that covered my body black.

I staggered to my feet, my mind in a complete daze. Fire danced in my vision. Great flames, taller than a house, towered around me. An incoherent cacophony of steel smashing against steal, screams, shrieks, and dying cries filled my ears. I twirled around, and saw Arena Ferox… reduced to ruins. Like something from Ancient Greece or Rome. Nothing more than crumbling stones scattered along the ground. Unlike the Parthenon, or the Roman Coliseum though, these ruins were littered with bodies, both whole and blasted apart. That was when I realized the dark color staining the snow was not ash, or smoke, or mud, but blood.

_ Oh God_…

Hooves galloped behind me. I spun around, ready to defend myself. My jaw fell open in horror as a horse rushed towards me, its mane and skin on fire. On its back was a headless rider, with blood spurting from his empty neck. The corpse stuck in its stirrups as its brave steed galloped onward into the fray.

Flight won again, and I staggered further into the flames and smoke. Occasionally, the enormous explosion of a spell impacting against the ground caused me to drop to the ground and bury my head beneath my hands. Coughs wracked my lungs as I struggled to breathe, and I hissed as sharp pain rushed through my sides.

A spell landed too close for comfort, and the burnt out body of a Ylissean mage landed next to my prone from. I scrambled to my feet, lungs wheezing as I struggled to breath through the smoke and ash. My eyes watered as the haze stung against them. It was like trying to see through a black fog, an impossible task. I tripped over something and dropped to my knees.

It was Risen, sawed in half. It's upper half still lived, and clawed at me with bony fingers that tore into my pants. I frantically kicked at it. The heel of my boot smacked against it's rotten jaw, knocking it free and sending a spurt of black ooze onto the snow. It groaned at me as I finally scrambled away from it's grasp and surged to my feet.

Only to back into a human with evil intent in his eyes, and a bloodied steel ax in hand. One of the brigands sworn to Grima's service.

With a snarl, he swung at my neck. I ducked beneath the wild swing, hearing the steel hiss over my head. I tried to sprint around him, only for one meaty arm to catch me around the waist and fling me to the ground in front of him. He raised his axe over his read, ready to cleave it into my body. I rolled to the side, and heard the steel whistle past my body then burrow into the ground with a hard thunk. As quickly as I could, I pushed myself back up to my feet and turned to bury my dagger into my enemy.

He abandoned his stuck axe and tackled me to the ground. I lost my grip on my long dagger as we fell into the snow; a tangled mess of limbs, curses, and panic filled desperation. A sharp elbow smacked my ribs, eliciting a pain filled cry from me. My knee dug into the bigger man's crotch, which made him hiss. We rolled over one more time, then I managed to slip my smaller form from his grip. The training I recently had with Donnel kicked in, and I wrestled my way around the brigand until I had my arms wrapped around his head. With a harsh cry, I twisted his head, and felt his neck snap with a wet pop. Without a sound, his body fell forward, completely limp.

I didn't even have time to linger on what just happened. I didn't want to anyways. I just started running. My feet rose and fell through the snow with heavy falls, as if great stones were wrapped around my ankles.

A stream of fire erupted in front of my, cutting off my path with blazing heat. I shielded my eyes as I skidded to stop. With the agility of a blind giraffe, I switched directions and sprinted parallel with the flames.

I briefly glanced into them, and I saw shadows dancing in the fire. Men and women screamed. The fire was so hot, I saw metal from armor, swords, and axes melting and hissing against the once cold ground. Any snow nearby evaporated away, and it felt like my skin was blistering from the heat. I dashed back away from the fire, and found myself in the middle of a melee.

Knights, Feroxi warriors, Risen, Brigands, and Mages were all engaged in close quarters combat around me. Steel flashed in the smoke and darkness, the metal gleaming in the white firelight as another stream of fire slashed through the earth, consuming more of the living. I kept myself small, inconspicuous, as I tried to weave my way out of the chaos.

I bumped into a Ylissean soldier, and to my horror he spun on me, lashing out with a sword. I yelped, jumped back, and felt the tip of his blade tear through my tunic, barely brushing against my skin. Hot blood ran down my chest from the thin gash he created. Before that panicked, terror-stricken soldiers could do anything else; a great, scaly beast landed on top of him, talons crushing him on impact.

My jaw went slack as I looked upon an undead Wyvern. Half of its skin and scales were missing from its skull. Ruby eyes sparkled as it stared at me, hungrily. It's jaws opened, unveiling rotten teeth and breath that came out in a rancid purple mist. All bodily functions failed me as my knees knocked together. I felt paralyzed in front of the beast. It's bloody talons scraped along the icy ground, towards me as it curled back what remained of its lips. Teeth ready to tear into my scrawny body.

A stray blast of lightning smacked against the Wyvern, knocking it off balance and tearing me free from my terrified stupor. I sprinted around the Wyvern, beneath its flailing, bony tail, and around the otherside of it.

This was too much. I couldn't do this. I could not be involved in a pitched battle like this. I wasn't a soldier. I wasn't trained to face the enemy head on in a gruesome dance of gore and death. I could not be here. I couldn't die here!

"Anna!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping beyond hope that the grumpy merchant would hear my cries and drag me away from this terrible nightmare unfolding around me, "Anna!"

I didn't see anyone I recognized. No Shepherds, no guards from the Arena, no one. Just corpses, soon to be corpses still fighting their fate, corpses that fought against those unfortunate breathing souls, fire, smoke, and bloody snow. I felt both spaced out, and hyper focused at the same time. Unable to tell where I was running to, but perfectly aware of how many bodies lay around me, how many soldiers still fought with every desperate breath they had, and how many Risen were trying to kill me.

One more thunderous roar cracked the sky. I froze, looked up, and saw Grima staring down at the battlefield, jaw gaping. My eyes widened, a mighty spell built up in his jaws.

It crashed down to earth. I fell to my stomach, arms covering my head. Intense heat washed over me. A shockwave lifted me off of the ground, and sent me flailing through the air. When I hit the ground again, I rolled through thick, wet snow for several feet. My eyes briefly glimpsed a rock.

My forehead hit it with a harsh crack, and the lights went out.

**Cliffhanger! Gotta leave you all hanging on second part of the quarantine, dual upload! Because I'm a nice guy that way, heheh. This was one of my favorite battle chapters that I've ever written. Drew a lot of inspiration from a bunch of places, most notably Battle of the Bastards from GOT. I wanted to not just portray a battle, but potray an absolute massacre with Sam caught in the middle, confused and terrified. I hope I did that well. Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Where I and other authors discuss writing, fandoms, and generally talk nonsense lol. Discord code is: ****9XG3U7a**


	21. Hounds in the Dark

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 21

Hounds in the Dark

For the first time in a long time, pain did not wake me up. Don't get me wrong, my entire body hurt like no tomorrow. Every muscle felt like a match had been lit inside of it, every tendon creaked as my body stirred, every ligament popped, and the aches were nearly unbearable. You'd think that would be what woke me up. Instead, the smell of smoke was what caused my eyes to finally flutter open. Smoke, and an absolutely horrid stench I could not place.

My eyes fluttered, struggling to open as ice kept them frozen shut. One of my weak, trembling hands reached up and scraped at my right eye, wiping away flecks of snow. I was face down on the ground. Something sticky was on my forehead, nose, lips, and chin. I had the worst headache I've ever had in my life. The kind of headache that makes you legitimately wonder if your brain is bouncing around inside of your skull. An absolutely pounding sensation that made everything from my forehead, temples, eyes, ears, and teeth ache.

_Definitely a concussion. _I thought, wincing as I rolled over onto my back. Which was a mistake, because I felt an enormous pressure in my right side and chest, which made it difficult to breathe. I wasn't sure what exactly was wrong. I was pretty sure I wasn't having a heart attack?

_Let's see… symptoms of heart attack: trouble breathing. Check. Pressure on my chest like an elephant is sitting there? Double check. Pain in my left arm… or is it supposed to be my right arm?_

Regardless, there was pain in both. A sharp, throbbing pain that felt more muscular than anything else. So I probably wasn't having a heart attack, good.

I blinked my eyes again, trying my best to clear my blurry eyesight. Above me was a starless, night sky. I furrowed my brow as I struggled to discern whether or not there were clouds above me. It likely didn't matter. What mattered more was this: I was awake, I was alive, and after recent events-

Everything came rushing back to me, making my head throb even more. It was all so vivid. Fire, lots and lots of fire. Heat that blistered my skin. Explosions, shrieks, screaming, dead and undead, Grima.

A lump formed in my throat, and my heart went from zero to sixty faster than any car known to man. I surged upright, eyes searching the area for any threat.

I found nothing but a frozen wasteland, littered with the shattered ruins of Arena Ferox, the tattered remains of burnt out tents, and thousands upon thousands of dead bodies half buried in fresh snow. Most of the snow had melted, then refrozen into slick sheets of gray, cloudy ice- having been stained by the intense smoke from the battle. Tattered banners fluttered on splintered poles around the area. I recognized one that had been shredded by massive claws, the Exalt's brand once emblazoned on it, now smeared in blood.

The terrible sight made me freeze where I sat. My eyes were wide, taking in everything involuntarily. I couldn't tear my gaze from the horror of it all. The bodies, some piled up in grotesque mounds of bloodied torsos, limbs, and heads. Horses slaughtered in the same terrible carnage, fallen on top of or beside their riders. Pegasi corpses, their angelic wings torn to shreds, lay dead in the ice.

I stayed quiet, afraid to even breathe. Despite that fear, I still breathed hard. Air misted from my lips in sharp puffs of white mist. The panicked filled breaths that shot free from my lips in ragged huffs were the only things I could hear.

You'd think the aftermath of a battle would still be noisy. In movies, in video games, hell, even in books I read back home, battles were always loud. Even during the aftermath there was some sort of miscellaneous noise, whether that was lingering skirmishes, the groaning of the wounded, the crying of the dying, even the crackling of fires.

Arena Ferox, or what remained of this place, was different. It was as silent as the grave. Not a noise penetrated the still billowing smoke or icy fog. Flies didn't even buzz among the carrion. It made my hair stand on end and goose skin break out over my flesh.

I slowly rose to my feet, every muscle groaning in sharp protest as I goot up. Once I rose to my feet, my head swam, and a sudden dizzy spell slammed into my mind. I stumbled forward, and felt my foot squish into something. I squeezed my eyes shut, exhaled, then dared to look down.

My foot was through someone's skull…

Vomit shot up my throat. A yelp rushed from my mouth as I scrambled away from the rotting, frozen body. After several, unsteady steps, I dropped to my knees and heaved. Nothing came up my throat. My stomach was empty, making it the most uncomfortable moment of illness I have ever felt in my life.

My scrapped, blistered palms scratched against slick ice in front of me as I struggled to catch my breath. I glanced down at my leather boots and could see gore still staining them.

_Oh god… _I gulped, trying my best not to dry heave again. I wanted to take a deep breath, but the stench was unbearable. I felt like I was suffocating on my own air. My heart thumped in my chest, blood vessels throbbed in my temples, and I felt a fresh trickle of warm, sticky liquid run down the bridge of my nose. I tenderly reached up and brushed my hand against where I felt a sharp, stinging sensation in my forehead.

My fingers came back a dark, crimson color. I stared at the red on my fingertips for a moment, puzzled. Then I recalled the final blast that slammed this place before I lost consciousness. I hurtled towards a rock when Grima basically nuked the area. Must've nailed it pretty good.

_How am I not dead? _I thought, blinking some blood and ice from my eyes as I glanced around the wastes. The fog that arose from the area made the bodies look more like silhouettes painted on the ground rather than gory remains. It also made it impossible for me to really know where I was. Add in the starless, moonless night sky, and I may as well have been blind.

The thought of making a torch crossed my mind, but with what? I didn't have any wood. Whatever wood remained in this place was either already burnt to cinders, or caked in so much ice that a fire wouldn't start even with a good fire spell. What made this entire situation even worse, was the sinking realization that I was alone. Utterly… alone. There were no signs of life around me. Only me, the mists, and the dead.

_Why am I not dead? _I wondered, glancing around me once more as I stayed on my hands and knees.

By all rights, by all laws of nature, combat, and man, I should've died. I was a helpless child on the field of a titanic slaughter. That's what occured when I was last awake. A slaughter, not a battle. A massacre, not a heroic stand against evil. Evil reared it's head, quite literally, at Arena Ferox. Grima butchered us, the Feroxi, the Ylisseans, the refugees… all dead. Every last one of them was gone.

And Grima doesn't take prisoners.

_Why am I here?_

Was I mistaken for the dead? I very well could have been. Just from the brief glances I cast down at my shirt, it would have been an easy mistake to make. There was a thin, bloody tear through the front of my jerkin and shirt, running armpit to armpit. Dried blood caked the torn threads of my leather jerkin and shirt, and I could feel ice stuck inside of sliced skin on my chest. I hissed and carefully prodded the area. It wasn't deep, but it still stung like hell.

Next there was the gash on my forehead, surrounded by a sickly wall of black, blue, and yellow skin. The source of my migraine, and other than the throbbing pressure-like pain in my sides, the most immediate source of physical discomfort for me. My hands were blistered from the heat of brilliant fires that scoured the battlefield. In fact, the only part of me that seemed unscathed were, amazingly, my legs and feet.

Ice crunched, and I froze. It came from my left. There was a groan, then an unnatural creak. I could hear sniffing, snarling, the sound of claws scraping along the slick, frozen battlefield. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. One of my hands reached for the dagger strapped to my lower back, but I only found an empty scabbard. I scrambled for the smaller dagger against my hip… empty too.

_Shit… shit, shit, shit._

A snarl made my breath hitch, and the claws scraping against the ground stopped. I couldn't silence my terrified lungs. My head was on a swivel, scanning all around me for whatever was stalking through the mists. Finally, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black shadow in the shape of the most massive canine I had ever seen in my life. I would have likened it to a wolf, if I had ever actually seen a wolf in real life before. As it came closer, I realized it was not a wolf. Not even close to one.

It was hairless, skin black as the bleak sky over my head. Parts of its flesh had rotted away, revealing the tendons, bone, and muscles beneath. One ruby eye still had flesh and sinew around it, the other simply floated within a hollow socket of bone. Claws dug into the ice, chipping away at the smooth surface, and leaving bloody streaks in their wake. It's half rotted mouth pulled back, revealing blackened teeth that were stained crimson. As if this creature had been feasting on the flesh of the fallen.

It's red eyes lingered on me a moment as its lips curled back further up it's skull, pulling back further than any natural animal should have been capable of doing. Like a cheshire smile placed on a dog. It made my stomach flip, my heart race, and my bladder fail.

I was weaponless, weak, and wounded in the face of this monstrosity. Prospects… grim. All I could do was run.

I scrambled to my feet, spun on my heel, and sprinted with whatever strength I had left further into the mists. The undead hound howled and gave chase. I could hear the beast's claws digging into ice and earth behind me. It's breath dogged my heels, leaving a cold sensation against my ankles.

My blood ran cold as another howl answered the first hound's call. Then a third, and a fourth.

I was being hunted.

I cast a terrified glance behind me, two more massive shadows joined the first Risen hound in the chase. A terrified yelp surged from my lips, and my legs surged faster over the ice. But they were gaining. Every second they drew closer, till I could see the various tendons beneath their rotten flesh pulsing and pulling against the muscles.

I couldn't outrun them, not in the open at least. I needed somewhere to hide, somewhere to regroup and hopefully sneak away. My prayers were answered as I saw a looming shadow in front of me, towering in the smoke and mists like something out of a nightmare. A final, terrifying refuge that would serve either as my salvation, or my grave.

I delved into the deeper shadows, seeing stone fly by me as I scrambled into a narrow, crumbling passageway. The hounds barreled after me, snarling as they bumped into each other as they tried to get me inside of the corridor. I could feel the floor descending beneath me. A gradual decline, that- if I was not so damn terrified at the moment- would've made me hesitate. The last thing I wanted to do was get trapped underground with these monsters, but I had no choice right now. There was only one place I could run, and this was it.

As I descended further, sprinting as fast as my legs could carry me, I noticed a distinct, musty smell to the air. As if this place had not been visited in a very long time. Cobwebs lined the cracks in the stone ceiling. Dust littered the floor, leaving footprints where my feet landed. I could hear the hounds snarling, their teeth gnashing behind me. One nipped at my legs, and I felt it's teeth graze me.

_Fuck!_

A sharp corner appeared in front of me, and I slid around it. The hounds couldn't match my sudden turn. Two of them slammed against the wall, the third slammed into the first two, briefly pinning all of them to the wall and allowing me some much needed breathing room. Before the beasts could recover, I scrambled down a skinny offshoot where an intact door stood open. I entered the offshoot and quickly shut the door behind me, slamming the latch and backpedaling away from the door as fast as I could.

The hounds howled. I kept running, not daring to believe the door could hold back those monsters for long.

The paved stones turned to rugged rocks around me, indicating the ancient age of this tunnel. The floor turned into soft dirt littered with stray patches of black ice that threatened to trip me up if I placed one bad step down on the ground. The howls grew quieter behind me, indicating that not only was I gaining some distance, I was also losing the monsters, for now.

_I'm not nearly that lucky._

As the howls died away, my sprint slowed to a jog, then finally to a fast walk. I constantly flicked my eyes back over my shoulder, back up the dark tunnel. I just knew they would come barreling down that skinny tunnel any moment, and I would be fucked. However, I couldn't run much longer. My lungs were on fire, the muscles in my legs felt like jelly, and my sides and chest ached something fierce. I sucked in a sharp breath of freezing, humid air, and winced as I felt ribs shift.

_Oh… that's why my sides hurt. _I exhaled, wincing as the breath left my body, _Ouch._

I winced, hissed as more pain wracked my entire body, then trudged onwards, until I reached something strange. It was a chamber of some sort. An unstable one at that. I could feel the earth shuddering over my head. Rumbling as it threatened to cave in on the chamber. No light filtered into it, and yet, it was lit by something I could scarcely describe.

A small, scarlet orb rested on a stone pedestal in the center of the chamber. It glowed with a soft, red light. At first, it reminded me of the Risen's terrifying ruby gaze, causing me to be on edge as I approached the pedestal. But the light seemed to do something to me as I drew near. My body felt stronger. The pounding in my head felt less painful. The ache in my ribs went from piercing to dull. I felt lighter on my feet, more focused, and less consumed by my body's pain.

Still, my caution overruled my curiosity, and I approached the object with extreme caution. I furrowed my brow as its red glow washed over my face. One of my hands reached up and rubbed my chin as I studied the orb closer.

It looked like a clear sphere of glass, or crystal, with a small, pulsing light inside of it. For some reason, I felt that this artifact had to be extremely delicate, which made me not want to touch it. And yet, I felt compelled to place my blistered palm on it's smooth surface. As my hand brushed against it, I hissed, feeling a buzzing sensation rush through my skin.

I clutched my hand to my chest, afraid that I had burned myself further. I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid of what I might see if I looked down at my left hand. Finally, I forced myself to glance down at it.

No blisters were there. My skin was as smooth as it was the day I was born. I stared wide eyed at my palm, scarcely believing what I saw.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

_What the fuck have I just found?_

"Magnificent, isn't it?"

A voice echoed around me. One I recognized. One that made my spine crawl, my knees knock, and my throat go dry. I twirled around, scanning the dark chamber with only the light of the orb to help me see into the shadows. I spun around towards the tunnel, and gulped as I saw a lone figure moving down the tunnel towards me. As she stepped into the scarlet glow of the orb, I could see long, flowing black robes. Much thicker than the ones she had been wearing in Port Ferox. A black spellbook rested in her hands, clutched against her chest, as her dark eyes glared at me from beneath her midnight bangs.

_I'll take the dogs now._

The corner of her pale mouth curled into a slight smirk, "You are as pale as a ghost. You must've not expected to see me down here."

I swallowed hard as she began to circle me, just like those hounds did, "Honestly, I'd be very happy if I never saw you again."

Tharja tsked, "Quite a rude thing to say. And the feeling's not mutual. I am actually quite pleased to see you again, _Lucky_." She paused on the other side of the orb, so that her face was lit up across from me by the scarlet glow, "You've led me right to where I needed to be."

I pressed my lips, "Inadvertently though."

She shrugged, "Inadvertently or not, my master will be pleased."

The mention of her master made me both shiver, and feel absolutely furious. I did not know Tharja like the other Shepherds did, but when they found out she turned traitor, they were not shocked, as much as they were disappointed. In fact, the only people that seemed genuinely stunned by the sudden turn were her direct family- Henry and Noire- , Tiki, and Morgan. Anna was not surprised by Tharja being a traitor, as much as they were surprised by the fact Tharja was actually alive. Despite this lack of knowledge I had regarding the Dark Mage prowling this chamber, I felt just as angry and disappointed as the other Shepherds when I looked at her.

She must've noticed my scowl, because her smirk died as she lingered longer in the chamber.

"Ah…" She inclined her chin at me, "I see some stories have been told."

"They trusted you." I said, swallowing the fear I had.

At this point, what was fear going to do for me. Absolutely nothing. I was trapped down here by Tharja and her hounds. Fear would only get in the way. I could be scared again when, or if, I survived this encounter.

"Tiki, Anna, Gaius," I continued, my biting words causing no reaction on her face, "they all trusted you. And you… you killed Gaius."

Tharja took a deep breath, "I did what I had to, given the circumstances."

"Given the- are you seriously trying to justify yourself?"

"This world is ending, Lucky. Grima is going to win, that much is now certain. The Feroxi are defeated, and now Ylisse stands alone." Her dark eyes narrowed at me, "Do you really believe they can hold out against his power? Do you actually believe there is hope? No, there is no hope left. None that I have been able to see. I have seen the true breadth of his power, Lucky. I have seen what Grima is really capable of. The Shepherds, the Ylisseans, the Exalt, Lady Tiki, all of them stand no chance."

A snarl crossed my lips as the memory of Gaius's cold body, sitting beside me in Anna's cart, rushed through my mind.

"Yet, we still fight."

"And yet, you still fight." Tharja shook her head, as if she was struggling to believe what I was saying. As if the idea of fighting a force that sought nothing but death and destruction was a foolish one, "You're a curious one, Lucky."

She started circling the orb again, and this time, I followed suit, keeping the orb between me and her. And hopefully, opening up a way out of here before the entire place came down on my head. I could feel air seeping into this room, and not from the tunnel.

"I don't recall you ever being around the Shepherds before." Tharja continued, "Then, all of a sudden, you are a protege of Anna and Gaius. Gaius I can understand, the thief was always too trusting. But Anna? And the way she reacted to my threat of torturing you? That was most surprising."

I shrugged, "What can I say? I guess I'm full of surprises."

A dark snicker slipped from Tharja's lips, making me shiver with fear instead of shaking with fury. That snicker, the sheer confidence it held; it reminded me that Tharja could wave her hand and obliterate me without a thought. I needed to be very careful now. The way out had to be nearby. Some sort of gap had to exist in these old, dirt and rock walls.

There… there! A gap, a small sliver in the rocks. Just slight enough for me to fit through. For the first time in a long time I was thanking my lucky stars I was scrawny. Now the next step was getting away without Tharja turning me into the next victim of Grima's massacre.

"Indeed," Tharja nodded, "you are full of surprises. After all, by some miracle or curse, depending on how this ends for you, you survived the battle." She flicked her spellbook open, freezing me in place, "You have a knack for surviving, don't you? First Port Ferox, and now this battle."

Port Ferox shot through my mind again. I saw it all over again. Every vivid detail played on a loop. The mad dash to the cart, Gaius reaching for my hand, the sensation of lightning grazing my hip as it speared a hole through Gaius's heart. Tharja's fingertips smoking as she watched us escape. Memories that would stay with me forever. Actions that I found myself incapable of forgetting, or forgiving.

The earth shifted above me, and some dust rained down from the ceiling. I quickly glanced up, and wondered how much longer until this place caved in.

"You know," I began, my jaw tight, "you really shouldn't have brought up Port Ferox."

Tharja's eyes gleamed, "Oh, and why not? Does it bother you? Does it hurt to know that your friend died, and there was nothing you could do to prevent it? Does it hurt to-"

"Does it hurt to know the man you loved is also the monster who wants to destroy the world?"

Tharja went silent, and I momentarily reveled in my brief victory. Only to feel my throat constrict as I saw Tharja's gaze turn furious. I could see her lips moving, and the faint sound of her whispering in the darkness hit my ears. A purple glow formed over the pages of her spellbook.

_Time to go!_

But did I have time to make a run for it? And if I did make it to that small crevice in the wall, would I just be blasted by her as I tried to shimmy through? I needed a weapon, a shield, something to protect me.

I looked at the red sphere. It was better than nothing.

As fast as I could, I snatched the sphere from the pedestal, spun on my heel, and dashed into the crevice in the wall. Tharja finished her incantation with a sharp hiss. Purple light flashed behind me, casting brilliant light all around me, and making me see my shadow in front of me as I squeezed through the crevice.

I managed to slip through just as a dark spell slammed into the crack in the wall. Stone shattered around me, tearing into my clothes and body like bits of shrapnel.

Fear kept me moving despite the obvious sensation of blood staining the back of my shirt. I tightened my grip on the sphere, and the pain from the stone shrapnel embedded in my flesh ebbed away. Whatever this thing was, it was a damn good painkiller.

The crevice I slipped through led into a skinny tunnel. I felt a cold wind rushing at me, and a smile graced my lips. I was going to make it!

The ceiling shuddered. Small clods of dirt plopped onto my head. As I ran, I glanced over my shoulder and saw the entire tunnel collapsing behind me.

"Shit!"

I picked up my pace, running faster than I ever had before in my life. Just as I reached the mouth of the tunnel, a dark spell came flying after me, smacking me between the shoulder blades and sending me flying through the air. I screamed as I felt the most intense burning sensation sprawling along my upper back. Worse than any sunburn, or regular burn for that matter. It was barely soothed by my body falling into ice cold snow. Despite the pain I was in, and the steam curling up from the ground beneath where I fell, I kept my grip on the red orb. Slowly, the burning sensation was reduced to a harsh throbbing rather than intense, stabbing pain.

Dust and dirt spat out from the tunnel as I lay in front of it. A thin film of the grit and grime covered me and the snow surrounding me, turning the powder a dirty color. I reached up with one hand and wiped sweat, dried blood, and dirt from my face. Sniffles shot through my nose, and I cursed my allergies for the upteenth time since I arrived in this world.

Despite the red healing orb in my grip, my head started to pound once again. I let my head fall back, so I stared up at the sky despondently.

_God, I wish there was Tylenol. _

Shrill howls pierced the air. They were joined by the shrieks of Risen, which made my hair stand on end. Immediately, I was back on my feet and sprinting as fast as I could away from the tunnel. As I ran, a snowstorm kicked up around me, hiding my tracks beneath thick layers of fresh snow, and disguising any evidence of a massive battle; with the exception of the thick curtains of smoke rising high into the starless sky.

My legs pushed through thick snow drifts. The muscles burned, but I did not care. The howls echoed through the air, through the darkness, following me. Dogging my heels just like those Hounds did before I ran into Tharja.

They were after me. I knew they were. The old caveman instincts that my ancestors passed down to me could feel a pursuit unfolding. To the Risen, to the Hounds, to Tharja, I wasn't just an enemy anymore. An enemy would be considered a threat. I was considered prey. No mercy was ever shown to prey by the predator.

So I ran. I ran for what felt like forever. Time lost its meaning, as did exhaustion, thirst, and hunger. I cradled the red orb in my right hand as I rushed away from Arena Ferox. What direction was I going? I had no idea. I did not care, so long as it was far away from the Hounds, far away from the Risen, far away from that battlefield.

Hours must've passed, and the human body can only move for so long before being drained. Eventually, my vision turned blurry. My legs felt weak, and my long strides faded into lagging trudges through deep snow. I could make out the faint silhouettes of dark, pine trees all around me, but I couldn't focus on them. I felt woozy. My legs wobbled.

It took me tripping over a root one time for me to finally sag to the ground. I did not hear any howls, but I did not want to take chances. I could not pass out in the open.

_Need to hide. _

I dragged my body towards a large, dead tree. It's frail limbs spread out over my head like the hands to a dried up skeleton. Once I was within its shadow, I slumped against the dead trunk. A hollow thunk rang out as the back of my head rested against it. I sighed, letting my grip on the orb loosen so that it fell beside me.

More snow rained down from the black sky, caking onto my shoulders, legs, and head. I didn't care. I was too tired. The orb slipped from my fingers, rolling to a stop near my feet. The pain killing effect faded away, leaving me filled with aches, soreness, and sharp pains. I groaned, my eyes fluttered as I fought to stay awake, but to no avail. Within minutes of reaching the dead tree's embrace, I passed out.

* * *

I awoke sometime later. Wasn't sure if it was day or night. The sky remained the same as before, pitch black. No stars, no moon, no sun; only a faint, dark gray puff lazily drifting by on the cold wind told me there was sky at all above me.

_As if Regna Ferox wasn't depressing enough._

I moved my head, wincing as it pounded. My wince turned into a hiss as I felt sharp pain run up from my shoulder blades, through my neck, to the back of my head. My throat felt as dry as sandpaper. I tried to swallow, but it felt like nails running down my gullet when I tried. I gasped, letting my head fall back against the tree trunk again. Some snow shifted off of my head, making me realize how cold I actually felt. Which was bad. Hypothermia is the last thing I needed right now. I could lump frostbite in with the list of things I really did not want to deal with in this medieval world. I doubted there was anyone who really knew how to deal with either of those things.

_Wait… magic staves… elixirs… oh those sound nice._

All my aches and pains would be relieved if I got to those. I just needed to get moving. Keep moving, never stop moving. I had to run into someone, anyone, eventually. I did not care if they were Ylissean or Feroxi, soldier or civilian, bandit or merchant; I just needed help from anyone that could provide it.

Against all of my body's loud protests (of which there were many sharp pains, creaks, and groans), I moved. Slowly I picked myself up away from the tree. Thick layers of snow rolled off of my shoulders and legs as I shifted where I sat. I moved my left leg, and felt it brush against the orb I plucked from beneath Arena Ferox.

Absentmindedly I nudged it with my foot again, then leaned forward and picked it up. This time, I took the orb (which was about as large as my palm), and shoved it as much as I could into a pouch on my belt. Once I was sure it would not pop out of the pouch, I rose to my feet.

Every joint and muscle in my body screamed in protest, but I had no choice. I could not remain here, beneath the boughs of the dead tree that sheltered me while I slept. If I stayed where I was, I knew I would die. Either the cold, or my wounds would claim me. While I was in pain, I did not want to die. My mind screamed at me to survive, and so I marched onward, deeper into the pine forest.

I did not know which direction I was going. There was no way of knowing. No stars to guide me, no moon to look to, no sun to see where east or west were. I just walked, my legs shuffling through thick, wet snow. My body was hunched as I walked, wracked by soreness and pain. I shivered with each passing breeze. The wind slipped through my fraying, torn, tattered clothes, biting right into my skin with as much ferocity as those Risen Hounds.

My throat bobbed as I thought of those monstrosities. Thinking about those things was enough motivation for me to keep walking. As long as I moved, I liked to think I was creating more distance between myself and those monsters. More distance between myself and the nightmare that was Arena Ferox.

Again, the battle replayed in my mind. Now that I really looked back on it, the battle wasn't much of a battle. It was a massacre. The kind I only ever read about in fictional novels and in history books. The kind that makes you wonder how a human being could survive such a horrifying, bloody event. Just thinking about it made everything else in my mind turn to static. Like a television with only one station, and that station replayed every single terrible nightmare that you had ever experienced.

I just saw the fire, the bodies, the blood, and the snow. Black risen ash, and the blood of risen, dark as ink, flying around me. I could hear all of the dying cries, all of the shrieks, all of the screams, as if it was all happening again around me. The noises nearly brought me to my knees, but still I pressed on.

The snow rose higher around me, until I was shoving my way through waist deep mounds of it. The snowstorm had finally passed by me, but the wind remained. My teeth chattered behind my chapped, raw lips. I tried to wrap my cloak tighter around my body, but the thin garment did little to shield me from the cold.

I did not know when it happened, but I suddenly couldn't feel my hands grab my cloak as I pulled it tighter over my shoulders. I had lost all feeling in my toes and feet ages ago. Leather boots could only keep the cold out for so long. My breathing felt raspy, erratic. As if my breath was being stolen by the air around me, and I couldn't get it back. My footsteps turned slow and slogging, as if I drank way too much firewine before this long journey away from hell. The only upside to how cold I felt was that it distracted me from the lingering pain in the rest of my body. That, or all my nerves in those areas were already frozen, and soon they would hurt far more due to frostbite.

My eyes fluttered, and I snorted. My head shook as I forced myself to remain awake.

_Stay.. awake. _I trudged forward, limbs shaking as I moved, _Need distraction…_

For some reason, my mind turned to music. Something other than the battle to distract my mind.

"Mamas…" I huffed, "Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys…"

_Why this song? _I wondered.

_Cause it's damn good song, that's why. _My brain answered back.

"Don't let 'em pick guitars… or drive them old trucks."

_Heh, trucks. Been a while since I've seen one of those. _I blinked as a dark ring started to form on the edges of my eyesight. _Wonder what Anna would think of a truck? Would she be a truck girl? I wonder…_

"Let 'em be doctors... and lawyers… and such…"

Pain lanced through my body. I stumbled in a deep snow drift. One trembling hand reached out to steady my shaky body. I sucked in a shallow breath, but it did little to make me feel like I had any air in my lungs. I swallowed hard, fighting to remain awake and to keep walking. The pine forest was thinning out around me. I was at least getting somewhere.

_Should've gone to school. _I grunted as I pushed my crippled body forward another step, _Wouldn't be in this situation if I had gone to be a doctor._

"Mamas…" I swayed as I took another step. I stopped walking, suddenly too dizzy to move, "don't let your babies grow… up to be… cowboys.." I took another shallow breath, "Cause… they'll… never stay home…"

I fell onto my side. My body lay on top of the thick, heavy snow around me. Hardly sinking into the white powder. It felt like I was laying on a solid block of ice. Hell, in all likelihood, I was.

_Should've stayed home. Should've called in sick. Then that fucking bus… fuck that bus._

I rolled over onto my back with the last strength I had left. My eyes stared up at the black sky. I wasn't sure if my eyes were tricking me or not, but I swore I saw faint stars twinkling as dark clouds rolled away. The edges of my vision continued to darken.

"They're…" My voice was now a whisper, barely audible even to my own ears, "always alone."

I could hear something. Some faint movement nearby. Was it faint? Was it loud? Couldn't tell, too weak and exhausted to know. Wait… was this exhaustion? Or is this it? Is this my end?

_I'm going to die alone._

My mind played another trick on me. I thought I heard voices. They were quiet, or were they shouting? They sounded so distant. It had to be a trick. A final taunt from my thoughts as I lay, breathing what felt like my last breaths.

"Even with…" I exhaled slowly. The shadows in my eyes had nearly consumed me. But I remained focused on the lone star I saw twinkling above me, uncertain if it was real or not, "Someone they love…"

_Huh… _All I saw was that little star twinkling above me. For some reason, it started to shine green, _Never found love._

I exhaled and felt a faint buzz over my body. Everything felt lighter. My limbs hung loose at my sides as I felt like I was floating along the ground. Wasn't sure what was going on really. At the very edge of my hearing, before I lost all cognitive ability, I swore I heard sharp cursing and the dull roar of a Wyvern.

I inhaled one more shallow breath, exhaled, then succumbed to the darkness, the howls of hounds in my mind mixing in with the soothing voices of Waylon and Willie.

**And chapter! This is the first and only chapter where Sam is basically alone. No one is there to help him, no one is there to save him, he has to survive on his own. I think he did a pretty decent job, even if he was fading by the end of the chapter. As for that orb he found, I'm sure most of you can figure out what it was, but it is gonna be pretty important coming up. Let's just say, Gaius's nickname strikes again! Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	22. Interlude I: Ragged Company

Rigged from the Start

Interlude 1

Ragged Company

Anna

_Let's see. _

I exhaled as I yanked the canvas flaps to the back of my cart back, unveiling the shambled mess that was my inventory. Mad dashes away from a massacre tend to jostle things around. This time was far worse than usual. Hell, I had just begun organizing everything after Cynthia's insane driving knocked everything loose. Now I had to do it all over again.

_Damn kids._

I poked my head inside. There was not a single spot open to stand on inside of the cart. Broken jars lay in shattered piles of glass along the floor. Several crates were barely held together by the rusted old nails and rotting boards that made them. You'd think I'd have better boxes to put stuff in, but this isn't the good old days anymore. Of all things, good wood was hard to come by anymore. Most of it had been taken by Frederick, Lissa, and the Ylissean military. Most of the Feroxi wood was crap, so good luck with that. Might be good for cheap crates, but for some reason they don't hold up very well. And Plegia… well… sand and corpses don't make for good soup carriers.

A chicken clucked, startling me. My old traveling companion, the ever long suffering Cluckers, roamed free from her splintered wicker cage. That wily bird was nestled on top of a makeshift nest of blankets, clothes, and a pie dish. I smirked up at her.

"I'll get you a new cage." I plucked a large piece of glass off of the floor, examined it, then placed it in the burlap sack I brought over to help me clean up, "Don't you worry about that." I started carefully scraping glass out of the cart and into the sack, "You'll need one for the trip over the sea."

Cluckers clucked, and I stopped what I was doing.

"Well yeah, you're coming with." I replied, not bothered for one second that I was speaking to a chicken. After all, she was my oldest traveling companion. And the biggest upside about this one, she didn't talk back. Best of all, she provided excellent breakfasts while on the road.

_And I don't feel as attached._

I paused in my cleaning. Not entirely sure why I stopped, but this entire situation felt different. Was it because I had just survived an absolute slaughter and was now fleeing with what remained of the Archanean army towards the Longfort? Probably… but… probably not.

I was always a solitary traveler. For the better part of my life, after my childhood and when I finally broke away from my other siblings and my mother, I lived alone with the road and the wild. A peaceful life. Quiet, with the occasional stops in villages, towns, and cities. Of course, I lived for those stops back in the day. Haggling made my day. The sound of coins clinking together in a coin purse made me giddy. For my younger self, that was when I thought I felt at my happiest.

Looking back, while I was always thrilled to make that money, I enjoyed the quiet more. I enjoyed the forests as the wind whispered through tall pines. I loved riding along and watching fields of grass wave with the whipping winds of the Ylissean plains. I enjoyed traversing from oasis to oasis in the sands of what once was Plegia. Oh the adventures I had, all alone.

My fingers tapped along the wooden deck of my cart.

_All alone…_

It'd be that way again, soon. Lissa was working on getting me passage on a ship out of this hellhole. I'd get to be a merchant again, instead of a soldier and hero. A lifestyle that was much more my speed. No more mad dashes away from certain death, or towards it. No more babysitting idiotic soldiers and equally moronic children who had no place on a battlefield.

I pursed my lips, _No more watching friends die._

I inhaled deep through my nose, fending off a wave of melancholy that threatened to make an already bad day even worse. I didn't want to focus on that. Nope, never; I was not going to linger on it anymore. I had a cart to clean, merchandise to organize and price, inventory to take. So much stuff to do, so little time.

That damn kid's face flashed in my mind, and my grip tightened on a piece of glass.

"Sure could use that bumbling twit's help right about now." I mumbled.

Cluckers ruffled her feathers and I glanced up at her. At this point, my hand was starting to sting, but I hardly noticed.

"Yeah, I'm talking about Sam." I sighed. My eyes flicked through the cart, "No, nope." I glanced down at my hand and saw fresh blood bubbling from where the glass dug into my freezing palm. With a scowl, I tossed the bloody shard into the bag and refocused, "Not going to do it." I shook my head, "Not going to let that run through the brain. I've got… I've got more important stuff to take care of."

Cluckers titled her head, beady eyes blinking at me with that same, dumb, absent look as always.

"Don't give me that attitude." I grumbled.

"What attitude?"

For a split second, I thought Clucker's talked back. My mouth briefly hung open as I eyed that damn bird.

"Anna?"

I blinked, and my shoulders sagged. An exasperated sigh left my lips.

"I don't want to talk, especially to you."

_Leave me the fuck alone, you damn dragon._

I heard Tiki's footsteps pause a safe distance away, which made me smirk. It was always odd, my relationship with her that is. I mean, this is the same person that could utterly annihilate me without breaking a single sweat. She wouldn't even have to tap into any sort of magical powers to do so. I've been on the receiving end of a punch from Tiki once or twice, and by Naga do they hurt. So it was fairly amusing to think that she was hesitant to approach me. That amusement died though as I didn't hear the sounds of her walking away.

With a snarl, I spun around.

"Alright, I'll bite."

Tiki did not respond right away, which allowed me some time to figure out what exactly brought her to me. As always, she looked… well… divine. Of course, that divinity made me scowl instead of excited nowadays. It only reminded me of how far apart we had become, and I hated being reminded of how close we once were. A red tunic covered her body, which was then encased by a pink cape that brought out the brilliant flecks of emerald in her eyes. I remember selling her that cape at one point. One of the first times we actually came to an agreement on something. Happened during the Valm war actually. Her first cape got torn up in some scuffle or another, and I had one handy. Didn't even bother to haggle with me, which really heightened my opinion of her because she clearly understood the value of such a fine garment.

… _where was I again?_

Tiki sighed, dragging me out of my memories, "I just… just wanted to come by and check up on you."

I sniffed and spun back around to my cart, scraping more shards of glass into the sack, "No need for that. Just go do what you need to do."

"Well, this is what I need to do."

I rolled my eyes. Gods this woman just won't take a damn hint! Can't she tell that she is the last person I want to see, let alone speak to. After everything that has happened: after Port Ferox, Tharja, and Gaius's death; she still had the nerve to come and check up on me. The fucking nerve!

"Anna…"

"Go. Away."

"Your hand."

I blinked, felt a sharp pain in my other hand, then let out an exasperated growl as I realized I now had gashes in both hands from gripping glass too tight.

"Look what you did." I grumbled, tossing the sack to the side, "Distracted me." I hopped up into my cart, "I know I have a broom in here somewhere. Why didn't I think of that first?"

Cluckers clucked.

"Not now buddy." I replied.

I clambered over a crumbling crate, accidentally kicked an axe head in the process. Pain lanced through my foot, up my leg, and I squeezed my eyes shut. A long, low groan rumbled from my lungs as I fought to keep myself from crying out in pain.

"I think you might be distracting yourself." Tiki said as she peeked into my cart.

I glanced back at her, a long scowl on my face, "You do realize you are the one talking to me, right?"

When I raised my head, I nearly smacked it against a lance shaft. With a snarl, I shoved the lance out of the way, only to succeed in toppling over a stack of books right onto my shoulder. The shoulder I bruised in that damn massacre a day ago. I hissed and stomped a foot.

"Fucking-" I kicked the fallen books, "You-" I kicked hard again, "Damn mess!"

The cart shuddered around me as I gave the floor one more hard kick. A frustrated snarl rushed from my lips and I clenched my fists tight.

"Need some help?" Tiki asked.

"Yes…" I muttered, "But not from you."

Tiki was silent for a moment. If there was one thing I always managed to do, it was make that dragon speechless. Probably the only advantage I had on her. Well… nah, I wasn't prideful enough to admit that I was better looking than her. With how much some of the grunts in this army leered at her, I knew that would be a losing argument.

"Very well then."

_Thank Naga._

"I wish you luck in distracting yourself."

I grit my teeth and twirled around to retort back, but Tiki was already gone. I slowly exhaled through my nose, letting my fury seep out of me in menacing waves. Cluckers uttered a nervous cluck and I rolled my eyes.

"You know I'd never hurt you."

I nudged a fallen book with the toe of my boot. I'd probably have to get rid of most of them. If I couldn't sell them, then I'd probably give them to Nah. Poor girl didn't have a gold coin to her name, but she loved to read. Couldn't take any of this stuff with me on the boat anyways. Probably won't be enough room on the boat for any books anyways.

_What was that one book Sam said he liked? The Hobo? The-_

I violently shook my head. No! I was not going to think about it!

I set myself to work picking up the fallen pile of books, neatly stacking them one by one on top of each other. As I did so, my eyes glazed over the titles. Most of them were from the Wyvern Wars saga, a book series Queen Sumia loved and bought from me regularly whenever a new installment came out.

_Fantastical stuff… like the Hobbit. Huh, that was the-_

A frustrated snarl erupted from my lungs and I surged out of my cart. I could hear Cluckers clucking away as I stormed away, towards the rundown fortress the surviving Shepherds and acting Khan Raimi had taken shelter in. Halfway towards the main gate, I paused, noticing hoofprints and wyvern claw tracks in the snow.

My brow furrowed and I looked skyward. Gerome and Cynthia were probably flying their worries away. I didn't blame them. If I could escape my thoughts that easily, believe me I would. Unfortunately for me, a solitary life meant that oftentimes my only companions were my thoughts, and so the only way to shut them off was with a lot of alcohol.

_Hopefully someone has something in the fort. _I thought as I trudged through the gates, not even bothering to pause to acknowledge the poor, exhausted soldiers tasked with guarding the crumbling entrance, _I'll even take whatever the hell Sam made that... FUCK!_

I huffed, breath misting out in front of me. No matter what I did, that damn kid kept popping up in my mind. Was it guilt? Shame? Some other emotion that I did not like feeling? Whatever it was, it was pissing me off.

I mean, yeah, Sam was my responsibility. He was my trainee, my student, the apprentice to my master, you could say. He was in no way, shape, or form ready to be on his own in a hellscape like the massacre at Arena Ferox. He barely managed to keep himself together in Port Ferox, a decidedly less random, if equally dangerous, arena of the war. And I somehow expected him to be able to take care of himself in an actual battle? Even with Morgan and Libra by his side, that was a foolish notion on my part.

_I fucking owed him. _I thought as I trudged towards the meager, shack shaped building that served as the Shepherds barracks, _And what did I do? Reneged on the deal. I never go back on a deal. And the deal was that I would make sure he was ready. _

I shoved my way inside the barracks. No one else was there. Perfect!

I milled through the miniscule common space. There was only enough room for a quaint fireplace, with a crumbling stone mantle, a trio of wooden chairs, two barstools and a small counter to prepare food on. One window allowed whatever meager light Regna Ferox's skies decided to give into the building, giving the entire room that quintessential Feroxi gloom. Only fitting for today's day and age.

I made my way to the counter and scanned the items on top. A few potatoes (frozen solid as always), one tomato (wonder how someone managed to get one of those up here), five onions, a still put together dead rabbit, and-

_Brady, you beautiful bastard of a child._

I saw the bottle of firewine hidden behind a healing stave that leaned against the counter. Cautiously, I flicked my eyes around the room, making certain no one was about to catch me in the act of pilfering someone else's stash. When I was certain no one would catch me, I grabbed the bottle, popped the cork with one of my knives, then put the bottle to my lips.

The burning liquid hit my tongue as I took one long gulp straight from the bottle. I let it sit on my palate for a split second, then gulped it down. A harsh gasp rushed from my mouth as I yanked the bottle away then smacked it back down on the countertop. I shook my head as my body recoiled from the harsh liquid.

"Wow…" I croaked, "I'm getting old."

"Kicks like a mule, don't it?"

I twirled around, dagger already in one hand, bottle in the other, as I readied to fight whoever wanted to take my prize from me. Donnel stood in the doorway of the barracks. As usual, he wore little in terms of cold weather gear. Opting for a simple, roughspun shirt, brown pants, and leather boots. His lavender hair was pulled back into a messy bun behind his head, giving him a somewhat kept up appearance. He also sported a fresh gash on his right cheek that was starting to scab over. Maribelle could easily heal something like that to the point where there would be no evidence it was ever there, but she was also busy with what few wounded we managed to evacuate from Arena Ferox.

Donnel didn't even flinch at the sight of my drawn dagger. I slowly lowered it, and the bottle of firewine. The farmboy simply sighed, walked up to the counter, reached below it, and withdrew two glasses.

"Mind sharing my stash?" He asked, a wry grin on his lips.

I eyed, sighed, and set the bottle back down for him to pour.

"Won't Mrs. Maribelle get mad at you for drinking with another woman?"

Donnel sniffed at that, "Mari's doing her thing, I'm doing mine. I wouldn't betray her like that, and she knows it." He poured two drinks and passed me one glass, "That being said, she'd probably be mighty cross with me for drinking so early in the morning, again."

We downed our first glasses in one gulp together. I exhaled, set my cup down, and leaned against the counter.

"So what drives ya to the watering hole this time, Anna?"

I shrugged, "I dunno." He poured another drink, and this time I sipped it, "You first."

His eyes darkened. An unsettling thing to see from a once cheerful man. I remember when I first met Donny the Farmer. It was just at the tail end of the Plegian war, we both ended up joining the Shepherds at the same time. I swindled him out of his week's salary in exchange for a bronze sword. Would've kept all that gold too if… if Robin hadn't convinced me to give Donnel some back.

_That tactician… _I thought, shaking my head, _Only person I've ever met who could make me do anything like that. Other than-_

"You're thinking about him, ain't ya?"

"Hm?"

Donnel nodded, "Noodle arms, the kid, Samwise."

"Samuel." I quickly corrected, not knowing hearing Sam being misnamed would upset me so.

Donnel furrowed his brow, puzzled, "Samuel? Mari always said he was Samwise." He shrugged, "Then again, Mari probably made it that way by not giving the poor kid time to talk."

I snickered a little at that as I finished my second glass. As Donnel poured a third, I brushed some of my hair from my face.

"In case you haven't noticed," I muttered, "I'm doing my best to not think about him."

"Ah… that explains why you're stealing my stash."

I snorted, "Now you sound like Gaius."

A sharp pang lanced through my heart as I thought of that wily thief. I brought my glass to my lips, and didn't bother sipping, instead gulping it down faster than the previous drinks. Donnel's brow raised as I slammed my glass back down on the counter.

"We got a limited supply, ya know."

I exhaled, "Don't fucking care." I motioned at him, "Keep it coming."

Thankfully, the farmer didn't seem to care about my liver, or my quickly disappearing sobriety. As he sipped on his second drink, I started nursing my fourth.

"Where was he?" Donnel asked.

I pursed my lips, "What part of trying not to think about him did you not get?"

Donnel shrugged, "All of it probably."

His response caught me completely off guard. Normally, when I get that edge in my voice, that threatening tone, people tend to back down. But not Donnel. He just played right back.

I chuckled under my breath, firewine swirling in the glass near my lips, "He was with Flavia, Libra, and Morgan."

Donnel nodded, "Well, Morgan made it out in one piece. Maybe he did too?"

I gave Donnel a doubtful look, "You don't know Sam like I do."

"I know. That's why I'm kinda surprised you're writing him off so easily."

"You wrote him off while beating the shit out of him." I countered as my words started to slur, "Fifth please."

Donnel plucked my glass from my hands and poured me another drink, "Got maybe two or three left in the bottle."

"We'll be using them." I replied as he finished pouring my drink. I quickly sipped it, pulled my glass from my lips, and glanced at him from the corner of my eye, "Do you really think he lived?"

"Hm?" He remarked, as he started his third drink.

"Sam." I clarified, "You really think he's alive?"

Donnel shrugged, "There's always a chance, right? I mean, his might be a slim one, but until there's a body then in my mind he ain't dead."

I worked my jaw back and forth, mulling over Donnel's words as the thick scent of firewine burned my nose. I took a deep breath, sipped, then smacked my lips.

"Even if he did survive the battle," I continued, "He'd be alone… in the wild."

"From what I hear, he'd done that before."

"T-true but-" I huffed, tucking my chin as I fought the small spring of hope threatening to open up inside of me. I did not want my expectations to go up. "Such a small chance."

_But Gaius called him Lucky for a reason. _I swirled the firewine in my glass, _Gaius's nicknames were never wrong. _I shook my head then downed the rest of the glass, _Stop it._

"Hit me again." I slurred, barely noticing my body starting to tilt to the side as I leaned up against the countertop.

Donnel frowned, not moving to pour me another drink, "I think ya had enough now. Need ya functioning in case we need to get moving again." He sniffed, "Besides, I'll need ya to help knock some sense into Brady."

"Can't you do it?" I grunted as I absently trailed my finger along the rim of my empty glass.

Donnel shrugged, "Could, but… Mari usually takes care of it, and she's busy. The boy ain't scared of me."

"And you think he's scared of me?"

"All the kids are scared of you, Anna." Donnel replied nonchalantly.

I drew back at that. The kids were all scared of me? Why? Well… I mean there were some reasons I suppose. Hell, the only kid that didn't seem afraid to approach me at any time was… Sam.

"The booze didn't work." I grumbled.

"Cause ya care."

"I don't like it."

Donnel snorted, "Ya get used to it after a while." He sniffed, "And I think that kid's alive. I mean; Sev, Cynthia, Gerome, and Brady seemed to think so too. Otherwise they wouldn't have gone out looking."

Any buzz I had from the firewine came to a screeching halt. I gawked at Donnel as he took a sip of his last drink.

"They what?"

He shrugged back, "Those four went out looking for survivors. Specifically Sam. Apparently Sev had a big blow up at Morgan over something or another, then went out with the other three to look for him."

"And you- you didn't try to stop them!?" I cried, stunned.

Donnel eyed me, "Anna, we can't protect them like a bunch of chicks in a coop much longer."

My eyes bored holes into him, but as always, Donnel was one of the few that didn't shrink at my harsh glare. He met my gaze; weary, haunted eyes repelling my fury as if it was nothing more than a pest to be swatted away. I grit my teeth and shoved my glass back towards the wall.

"Which way did they go?"

I stumbled towards the door. For a split second, I wavered, my balance utterly compromised. Naga, I shouldn't have drank so much so early. The rest of the day is going to hurt so much. How the hell was I going to do inventory like this? I mean, I've done it before but- wait- kids, they come before the product.

_Never thought I'd be worried about anything other than the merchandise._

I took one more step forward, then stopped walking as the world spun. The floor rippled beneath my feet, and I lost all balance in my legs. Before I could slump to the ground, Donnel hooked me beneath my arms.

"Damn it, Anna!" He grunted as he caught me, "Should've cut ya off sooner."

"Gotta go get the kids." I muttered as the firewine really kicked in.

"You ain't going anywhere." Donnel grunted as he tossed my drunken body onto one of the wooden chairs near the dark fireplace. He winced as he let go of me, "Gods my damn back."

I snickered, "You're getting old too."

He gave me a weary look as I snickered, "You're a damn mess, ya know that?"

I shrugged, "Tell me something I don't know." I swallowed as my drunken laughter died, "Make sure they're alright, Donny. Ya hear me?"

He arched an eyebrow at me, "I did not take ya for someone to care about others well-being."

I rolled my eyes, "You gave me how many drinks of firewine? Don't ya know that stuff can make a girl emotional?"

Donnel simply gave me a long suffering sigh, "I'll find a patrol to go looking for them. You stay here."

Before I could reply, he marched out of the barracks, rickety door slamming behind him. A rush of cold air managed to slip into the room just before the door shut, making me shiver. I frowned as I sat alone in the cold barracks. My drunk gaze drifted towards one of the small, slivers of a window that allowed faint light into the common room. I stared at the frost crusting along the edges of the windowpane. Watching the meandering trails they made on what should have been smooth glass. Another attempt at distracting my mind.

Another attempt that failed.

I tucked my chin to my chest as I closed my eyes.

"Damn it." I puffed my cheeks and blew out an alcohol laced breath, "Tiki was right."

* * *

Severa

I do not like riding. It doesn't matter if it is a horse, a cart, or- Naga forbid- a Pegasus; I cannot stand straddling something else and riding along. I prefer walking, marching, something where both of my feet are planted firmly on the ground. Humans have two legs for a reason, and they are meant to be used. That was my firm opinion on the matter. My mother tried teaching me to ride a pegasus when I was younger, before she threw her life away in a hopeless battle. Maybe that is also part of the reason why I hate riding.

Unfortunately, there were situations where riding a steed of any kind was absolutely essential. One of those situations being search and rescue. Or in this case, simply search. A desperate search at that. There had to be survivors from Arena Ferox, other than those who managed to escape the carnage before it consumed them. Sam had to be alive too. That guy had too much luck on his side to have died in that hellhole.

_Unless his luck ran out. _I thought as my horse snorted beneath me. My loose grip on the reins tightened as a fresh shot of fury rushed through me.

When we all regrouped several dozen miles away from Arena Ferox, a head count was taken by Lucina, Exalt Lissa, and Tiki. Thankfully, all of my friends made it out alive. There were some scrapes, bruises, and gashes on their bodies, but they were otherwise alright. That alone was a miracle. But before I could take a breath and rest in the fact everyone I knew seemed to be okay, Sam did not reply to his name being called. At that point, I noticed Morgan try to sneak away from their group.

That was when the blow up happened. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have gotten so angry at her. But what I should have done does not matter. I was still furious with her, and my horse seemed to detect my anger. As did Brady as he rode alongside me, lazily lounging in his saddle as one hand tapped the steel axe on his hip.

"Ya still pissed?"

I rolled my eyes and said nothing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brady glance at me.

"Yeah, ya still are."

I groaned, "Are you going to keep bothering me with questions, or are you gonna actually keep a lookout for survivors?"

"Ya mean a lookout for Samwise?"

I scowled back, and he quickly averted his gaze.

"Didn't mean to poke a nerve." Brady continued.

"You didn't." I grumbled as a fresh, frozen wind swept over the plains that lay just before a thick pine forest, "Morgan's the one who poked a nerve."

"Don't she always do that to ya?"

My scowl deepened as my horse plowed its way through a tall snowdrift.

"You ever think about, I don't know, trying to understand her?"

"She left Sam for dead, Brady." I snarled back, my gaze focused on the landscape in front of me.

I briefly glanced up to the sky, searching the gray skies for a Pegasus and a Wyvern. Cynthia readily joined me and Brady on our survivor search, claiming it to be the duty of both a Princess of Ylisse and a member of the justice cabal. A declaration I rolled my eyes at, but accepted. Meanwhile, Gerome only joined us because Minerva was antsy. Or so he claimed. Honestly, that asshole might have genuinely wanted to look for survivors, but he would never admit it. And I never pressed him on his motivations, mostly because if I got more of his bullshit as a response, I would've punched him.

"Could've been an accident?"

A low growl emanated from my lips. I turned in my saddle, my gaze fixed on Brady.

"Yes, because Morgan, having taken shelter in the same room as Sam, would've _accidentally_ forgotten all about him." I rolled my eyes at the dumb look on Brady's face. He looked like he had just eaten one of Gaius's lemon drops, "Oh, and they were both on the top floor of the Arena. Last I checked, they'd have to take the same stairs to get down."

"And maybe they got separated?" The priest managed to squeak out.

_I'm gonna smack him._

With a huff, I turned back around in my saddle and snapped the reins, urging my horse up to a trot through the deep snow. Brady, wisely, did not holler at me to slow down. He might be dense like every other boy in this damn army, but he wasn't so dense to not know he better leave me alone right now. I mean, how could he continue to defend Morgan? She was the one who, apparently, directed our forces to not defend the northwest section as heavily. The section the brunt of the Risen attack came from. Then she had the nerve to not even show up on the battlefield, and instead run away as we all fought for our lives. Finally, the icing on the proverbial cake, she openly admitted to "losing track" of Sam.

_Yeah, _I scowled in my saddle as my eyes scanned the edges of the pine forest, both for survivors and potential enemies, _and I'm the best flyer in the army._

I mean, why couldn't they see what Morgan was? Sure, she has brains, magic, and she could match me with a sword, but she… she… gods she infuriated me. Little miss perfect, receiving everyone's praise for such natural talent. What do I get for grinding my way to the skills I have now? Nothing, nothing at all. Not even trusted to lead soldiers into battle, but Morgan can command an entire army. All because of who her father was.

_She's not the only one with a genius father. They all like to forget that._

My teeth ground together as my horse snorted beneath me, bucking its head at something along the edge of the woods. I ignored the damn animal at first, and urged it to keep moving. What did I care if it got spooked by something? I'm a little busy contemplating how to throttle Morgan, after all.

"Sev!" Brady hollered up to me.

I rolled my eyes. Now he wants to try and smooth things over. Hate to break it to Brady, but it ain't going to be that easy.

"Sev!"

If he keeps shouting, he's bound to attract attention. Either from Risen scouts, from survivors, or- Naga forbid- Cynthia. Gods I can't handle her right now. She'd say something stupid, set me off like a runaway fire, and then everyone's moods will be sour. Not that they weren't all sour already, given the circumstances, but damn it I do not want to deal with Justice Cabal shenanigans right now.

Brady's horse shot past me, curses flying from his lips. I faintly heard him curse me, and my face heated up with anger. I was about to reply in kind when I saw what he was riding towards.

It was barely visible in the deep snow, but on the edge of the pine forest, I saw someone lying on their back, unmoving. Arms and legs splayed out on the frozen ground. Probably just another dead body, but the fact that I barely noticed it got my attention. It meant this person was wearing clothing meant to hide them in the darkness. The great pines cast long shadows out along the path me and Brady were riding along, so whoever had fallen in the snow dressed to be invisible

_Fuck!_

I snapped at my horse, and it shot forward, chasing after Brady. Brady was already off of his horse, healing staff in hand, when I trotted up alongside him. One look down, and I thanked Naga that Brady was more attentive than I was. Not that I would ever tell him that.

"Hang in there, Sam." Brady muttered as he hovered the healing staff over the nearly frozen body of our comrade.

I hopped down from my horse, boots crunching in the snow. My brow furrowed as I looked down at Sam.

Naga, he looked rough. His eyes were closed, and they looked bruised. A nasty gash was open on his forehead, with dried blood smattered and smeared across his face. His clothes were torn, with a thin slash rent through his jerkin from armpit to armpit. I could see blackened blood staining the leather around the tear, which told me there was another wound hidden beneath his clothes. But the wounds should not be the major concern. Sam clearly weathered them long enough to walk this far. Hunger, thirst, and cold needed to be addressed first.

"Vulnerary?" I asked Brady as I dropped to my knees beside him.

"Back pocket." He grunted.

Not even thinking twice, I reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a small glass tube filled with blue, nebulous liquid. I popped the cork, pried Sam's mouth open, and dumped the tube's contents down his throat.

I heard a Wyvern's dull roar above me, then heard the sound of hooves slamming down against the snowy ground. My irritation with Cynthia and Gerome's arrival was overshadowed by the growing concern I had for Sam. He barely managed to swallow the vulnerary. Granted he was unconscious, but all of Brady's healing magic wasn't doing much at the moment. In fact, my focus was so drawn towards working on Sam that I did not notice Cynthia rushing up behind us.

"Hey, who'd you guys-" I heard Cynthia drop her lance, and I rolled my eyes.

"Cover your mouth later, idiot." I said, muttering the last word under my breath.

I got to my feet and moved towards my horse. Without thinking twice, I unbuckled the saddle, threw it off the beast, then removed the blanket beneath it. All the while, Cynthia stared wide-eyed and worried down at Sam.

"Fly back and alert the others to get ready. We'll be right behind you." I grunted to her as I threw the blanket over Sam, "Brady, let's get him on your horse."

"Why my horse?"

I glared at him, and he admitted defeat.

"Fine. Fine. My horse it is."

Gerome's wyvern, Minerva, roared overhead again. Probably that bastard's way of telling us to hurry the hell up. If this were any other situation, I would give him a piece of my mind once we got back. In fact, I probably still will, but Sam's life came first.

Brady and I heaved Sam up onto his horse. Once he was secure, Brady jumped up into the saddle.

"He's barely hanging in there." He reported to me.

"I can tell." I replied, buckling the saddle over my horse. I gave the great, brown beast a good pat on its side before jumping up onto its back, "So we need to hurry."

" 'Bout two hours from the fort."

"Does he have that long?" I remarked.

Brady spun his horse around, "Not if we keep talking."

Before I could reply, he snapped the reins to his horse and took off back the way we came. Cynthia was already sprinting towards her pegasus. Before she got on, I noticed something glinting in the snow, and I huffed.

"Cynthia!" I jumped down from my horse and marched towards it, thinking she dropped a knife, or a piece of armor. Gods she was such an airhead, "You dropped-" I froze when I saw the glint come out a red color from the snow. Carefully, I brushed ice from it, revealing a small, red gem that was about the size of my palm. Maybe a little bigger.

"What is it, Sev?" Cynthia called to me as her Pegasus snorted, anxious to take off.

I snatched the gem and tossed it over to her, "Get this back to the others. Specifically your aunt and Lady Tiki."

Cynthia held the red gem up, eyeing it curiously, "What is it?"

I shrugged, "Dunno, but I know Sam didn't have that when we were in Arena Ferox. The fact he kept it must mean it's important."

"Ooooh, and if it's important to him, then Anna probably told him it was important." Cynthia followed up.

_Wow, an intelligent thought from her. Today is full of surprises._

"Get going already!" I barked, startling Cynthia.

"R-right!" She steadied herself in her saddle, "See ya back at the fort, Sev."

Her pegasus's wings beat once, then she shot into the darkening sky. A speck of white slowing shrinking as Cynthia soared higher and higher, eventually joining Gerome and turning south towards the Fort.

With a final huff of cold air, I hopped up onto my horse and spun around. Before I snapped the reins, I thought I heard sniffing from the woods behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, scanning the shadows. There were howls in the distance, which made my hair stand on end.

_Hounds…_

I snapped the reins and spurred my horse into full gallop. Risen hounds were closeby, and those were the last things I wanted to encounter today. One bite from those demons and I would likely be either dead or incapacitated for several days. My eyes widened as I rode fast to catch up to Brady.

_Was that what Sam was running from? _

I caught up to Brady and glanced at Sam's limp form on Brady's horse. Somehow, someway, Sam survived… again. He just had a knack for getting out of crazy close calls. First he saved my life after surviving on his own with amnesia, then he survived Port Ferox, and now he managed to outrun Risen Hounds after surviving the massacre at Arena Ferox.

I shuddered as I recalled the battle, but quickly pushed it to the back of my mind. Did no good to dwell on it, especially not now. I could be terrified by what occurred later, when no one else could see me shaking.

We rode at that hard pace for the entire way back to the Fort. When we got back, Exalt Lissa, Lady Tiki, Lady Maribelle, and Miriel, all rushed out to meet us. Those four took Sam from Brady's horse and quickly hauled him away to the main keep of the fort. As they rushed away, I heard Maribelle quickly running through Sam's injuries out loud. The most prominent being that she detected internal bleeding, broken ribs, a major concussion, and possible hypothermia.

And as I heard that absolutely cheery diagnosis, my eyes landed on Morgan, watching with a pale face as they carried Sam into the keep. I glared up at her as she remained at the top of the stone steps, and I could barely stomach looking at her for that long.

With a snarl, I spun away and marched towards the Barracks.

"Sev!"

_Don't do it, Morgan._

I heard her following me. Her feet rapidly rose and fell in the snow with light crunches, telling me she was rushing to catch up.

"Severa!"

_Last warning._

"Talk to me!"

"Like hell I will!" I roared, wheeling around and glowering down at her. She recoiled from my furious tone as my face heated up, "Gawds, you are supposed to be a great fighter. You could've helped Sam and instead you-you ran! You left him for dead!"

"Sev please let me-"

"Go away, Morgan!" I roared, cutting her off. My hand gripped my sword tight.

Her face paled further when she saw me clenching my blade. She looked past me briefly, swallowed hard as she fought some tears, then ran away, heading towards the fort's flimsy stone walls. I glared at her as she ran, then spun around… to see Lucina leaning against the barracks doorway, a frown on her lips.

That look from Lucina made me cringe inside. Hell, it made me feel a little bit ashamed.

… Okay, a lot ashamed. But was I going to admit that? Nope, not a chance. Morgan deserved that tongue lashing, and she knew it. That's why she ran instead of yelling back. I'm not the guilty one here.

I paused at the door, hand wrapped around the wooden knob. I could feel Lucina's eyes looking at me, scrutinizing me.

"Got something to say?"

A heavy breath sounded from her, and my guilt felt worse.

"That's no way to treat your sister, Sev."

"Yeah, well-" I yanked the door to the barracks open, "Abandoning someone is no way to treat a person either."

I didn't give Lucina a chance to reply, and I didn't address the other Shepherds in the barracks common room as I shoved my way to the bunkhouse in the back, made my way to my bunk, threw myself onto my cot, and buried my face into my pillow. More guilt and shame washed over me as the look of hurt on Morgan's face burned in my mind. Only to be followed up by how close to death Sam appeared. Next came Arena Ferox, then Themis… then… then...

Then I saw mom and dad in my mind, and tears stained my pillow.

* * *

Lissa

Another utterly exhausting day to cap off what has been one of the most hellish times of this entire war. I kicked the door to mine and Lon's room in the Fort's Keep shut with my foot, an exhausted sound sputtering from my lips. With a weary hand, I removed the crown from my head, and set it down on the meager, lone table in the room with a quiet thunk. As I set it down, I gazed down at the golden halo. It was nearly the same crown my sister, Emmeryn, wore so many years ago. We never recovered hers after her death, but when the time came for me to take the throne, Maribelle insisted on having one nearly identical.

As I looked down at the crown, I noticed the cracked skin on my hands. They were dried out by the harsh, frozen, Feroxi winds; almost to the point where my knuckles were bleeding. I barely noticed this before, since I had been consumed in the whirlwind that was the aftermath of a massacre. Another heavy breath escaped my lungs and I reached into the pouch I always kept on my person, withdrawing a small vulnerary from inside.

Perhaps it was a trivial use of such a thing, but wow did the vulnerary feel good on my cracked, dry hands. I hummed, pleased with the warm feeling washing over the back of my hands, palms, and wrists. When I looked down again, they looked like how they did back home in Ylisstol. No cracks, no bloody knuckles, a few wrinkles-

I furrowed my brow. When did those pop up? Maybe it's just a smudge or-  
A knock sounded on my door, making me jump where I stood. A knock meant it wasn't Lon'qu, because he would have just let himself in. So it had to be someone else. Which is not what I wanted right now. What I wanted was a moment to breathe. A moment to process everything that has happened in the whirlwind that was these past few weeks. With that in mind, I tried to ignore the first knock, then the second, but by the third I was moving towards the door and opening it with grouchiness that was not normal for me.

But when I saw it was Lucina on the other side of the door, any grumpiness or annoyance left me, replaced with relief. Before she could even say a word to me, I yanked her into my room and enveloped my niece in a warm hug.

"Um… Aunt Lissa, you knew I was-"

"This is the first time I've been able to speak to you since Arena Ferox fell, so let me just hold you." I cut her off, squeezing her tighter as I felt her own, thin arms return the favor, "Forgive your aunt for being terribly worried."

Lucina laughed quietly, "There's nothing to forgive. But trust me, I'm fine."

I rolled my eyes at that as I ended the embrace, "You've barely recovered, and then you had to fight your way out of basically hell-"

"I wasn't alone. Owain and Cynthia were there to help me."

"And thank Naga they were." I replied as I trudged towards my bed and flopped down onto it, eyes staring up at the cracked, stone ceiling.

My family were the only people I ever allowed to see me like this anymore. Back before I was the Exalt, and just little Princess Lissa, I never worried about keeping up an outward image. I mean, who would be focused on little me? All of the attention was on Emmeryn, then Chrom, and rightly so. I always will consider them far greater rulers and leaders than me. I always wondered how they could shoulder such terrible burdens like war and strife while hardly batting an eye. I mean, I knew they were stressed during their own crises. But they always managed to project serenity (in Emmeryn's case), and strength (in Chrom's case), during the terrible times so many years ago. What did I project before ascending to the throne? More than likely I appeared to be a mischievous basket case. All of that changed as soon as that heavy halo crown rested on my head, and ever since I refused to be seen as weak or tired. The people of Ylisse, of Archanea, needed the Exalt to be a symbol of unwavering will during these times.

As such, Lon, Owain, Lucina, and Cynthia were the only people to ever see the real me. The exhausted, late thirties woman with far too much on her shoulders for her to possibly bear. And now with Khan Flavia dead, one of the rocks upon which our resistance against Grima had been built, that burden only grew heavier. As such, while I lay on that squeaky bed in this ancient Feroxi fort, I uttered a long, meager groan.

"Are you alright?" Lucina asked, concern written on her face.

My lips sputtered, "I'll be fine. Just… tired." I sat up, not caring that the sheets beneath me managed to tousle my always carefully manicured, blonde hair (Maribelle really always put too much emphasis on it in my opinion, but good luck telling her no).

"More than tired, I think?" Lucina responded, not falling for my simple explanation.

"I wish it was more than tired, honestly." I replied with a mutter, my shoulders hunched as I sat on the edge of the bed. Lucina sank down beside me, "If it was more than exhaustion, stress, worry, sorrow, I'd be able to find a fix for it. But… there's no healing stave, spell, or alchemical remedy to cure those problems."

"Unfortunately no." Lucina nodded, "But what can I do to help?"

I gave Lucina a weary look, one she seemed puzzled by. With a snort, I hung my head and shook it.

"Ugh, you're so much like your father." I muttered as I got to my feet, far too worried and restless to remain still for long.

"That's a bad thing?"

I twirled back around as Lucina remained seated, "Absolutely not." I chirped back, confusing her even more, "Lucy," I took her hands in mine as she remained seated, "your father had a strength and will that I wish I could measure up to. Those have been passed down to you. At the same time though, that will lend itself to stubborness." I giggled a little, "I can't even begin to tell you how many times I had to heal him after he went off and did something bullheaded without thinking."

My words did little to make Lucina understand what I was talking about. She remained perplexed, brow furrowed and a slight frown on her lips.

"My point being," I continued as her hands slipped from mine, "you've only just recovered from being captured and tortured. Naga, you should have…"

I drew in a shaky breath as the image of Lucina clinging to life by a thread as Cynthia spurred Anna's cart into Arena Ferox bombarded my mind. Her already slight body starved to a near skeleton, residual dark magic lingering in her wounds. I didn't know if she would live or die during those first few hours, but thank Naga, Libra was there.

"... Lucina, you need to take things slow for a while."

She closed her eyes, not protesting my words. Which surprised me.

"Perhaps you are right." She muttered, eyes glancing down for a moment, "But…" Oh, there's always a but, "There's no more time to rest in today's day and age. You can't shoulder the burden of leading our army alone. Let me help."

I bit my lip as I contemplated the idea. Uncertainty settled in my gut, which was never a good thing. An Exalt needs to be decisive, especially in the war against Grima. Lucina had to be one of the most capable fighters I knew. She did learn a bit from her father when he was still living, then continued to learn from Frederick, Lon, and Donnel, but… but I just can't do it. She realized my decision without me even having to say a word, and her face dropped because of it.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." I breathed, "There will come a day when you will take a greater role in everything, but not now." I sat down beside her again as I watched disappointment and, unsurprisingly, frustration wash over her face, "I swore that I would keep you and your sister safe. That promise I made was nearly broken and-"

"And it will continue to be nearly broken so long as Grima lives." Lucina said quickly, her voice not rising in fury, but still laced with anger, "I wield Falchion. The one sword that monster fears above all others. I can-"

"Did he fear it when he attacked the Longfort?"

Lucina went silent. A deep breath escaped my lips as I kept my own emotions tightly controlled. I did not want this to escalate to a full blown argument, mostly because I was too tired to deal with it, and because I hated fighting with the children like this. They were always so anxious to join the fight, and it took everything in me to even allow Lucina to go to Regna Ferox with only Lon'qu watching over her. Regret surged through me again as I realized that decision led to Lucina nearly dying.

"Lucina." I took her hand in mine, "You're still… you're still a child. You may not think you are, but you are. Enjoy that while you-"

"I'm eighteen, Aunt Lissa." Lucina interrupted, making me frown.

_Fair point there. _I thought to myself.

"Besides, I'm more than capable of fending for myself. I-" Lucina paused a moment, "I want to help. I want to win this war, and I believe we can do it. But I can't help in doing so if I remain sheltered."

"But Lucina-"

A knock sounded on the door, giving me a way out of this difficult conversation. And thank Naga for that. Before I could even get up to open the door, Cynthia burst inside.

"There you are!" She cried, "I was looking for you!"

I blinked, "Looking for- where the hell have you been, young lady?"

Her face dropped, "Er- well- you see Severa was-"

"I did not get the chance to say this before, when you got back, but you left the fort without any guard or informing myself or one of the other Shepherds." I scolded sharply, making even Lucina cringe.

"D-Donnel knew." Cynthia quickly stammered back.

My eyes widened, "He and I will have words then." I drew in a deep breath, trying to stem my anger. Normally I'm not an angry person, but the stress and trauma of the past few days has, admittedly, gotten to me, "For now, you can talk with Frederick about mucking out the stables when we get back to Ylisstol."

A look of horror passed over Cynthia's face, "M-mucking-"

"Anyways," I sighed, "I probably should go and speak to Maribelle about Sam. His condition is… tenuous."

Honestly, I was shocked the young man managed to survive. Gaius called him Lucky, and apparently his nicknames continue to remain true. Young Samwise had a knack for surviving the impossible, although even his current situation was shocking. He still had not awoken from his near comatose state, as far as I knew. Not surprising really, given the manner of injuries and ailments he had. Hypothermia nearly killed him. Add in the frostbite, concussion, blood loss, broken ribs, and internal bleeding, and I was amazed he lived long enough to walk this far away from Arena Ferox. Because of that, I ordered a healer to be by his side at all times and to limit visitors. His body needed to recover, not be further stressed.

I got to my feet to leave, only for Cynthia to speak up again.

"That reminds me!" She started digging into a bag she had on her side, "I almost forgot. Sev told me to give this to you and Lady Tiki."  
She withdrew a red orb. It shimmered with crimson light, and my breath caught in my throat.

"Where did you-"

"Sam had it." Cynthia replied.

"Sam had Gules!" Lucina cried, mouth agape as she stared at one of the Fire Emblem's gemstones.

Cynthia's eyes widened, "So that's what this is."

"Yes." I quickly snatched it from her grasp, "It is."

_How in Naga's name did Sam manage to get this? _I wondered as I carefully held Gules in the palm of my hand. As I held it, I felt a faint buzz in my fingertips. One look down at my knuckles, and I saw no evidence of cracked skin, or even the faint wrinkles that had appeared during the past month.

"That's how he survived." I muttered.

I quickly turned and placed the gemstone into a chest within my room, of which I had the only key. I turned the lock and stepped back. My mouth felt dry as I looked at the closed chest. Lucina rose from her seat and walked over to me.

"There's hope after all." She muttered, "Grima didn't destroy it."

My heart hammered in my chest. Lucina was right. We all thought that Grima managed to destroy Gules when he leveled Arena Ferox. Somehow though, Sam walked away from the massacre with the gemstone in hand. I would call it a miracle, but time and tragedy have taught me there are not many of those, and we ran out miracles at some point during the Valm war.

Then again, they've been popping up more frequently since Sam arrived. He managed to save Severa's life when he first showed up, then he helped rescue both Lucina and Anna (granted he needed rescuing too, but he still tried and was instrumental in the escape), and now… now he's delivered Gules.

_Does he even realize what he's done?_

"Are you okay, Auntie Lissa?" Cynthia asked, concern on her face as she walked up to me, "You're really quiet."

"I-I'm fine just… one of you please fetch me Tiki and Khan Raimi. I must speak with them immediately."

"I'll go." Lucina said quickly. She marched to the door, then paused, "Also… I feel the need to say that we should keep an eye on Severa and Morgan."

My brow furrowed, "Are they going at it again?"

Lucina pursed her lips, "It's worse this time. Severa is accusing Morgan of leaving Sam to die."

My eyes widened, "Severa said something that cruel? I mean, she's a bit of a hothead but-"

"And I'm concerned about the Shepherd's integrity if those two really start to fight." Lucina continued, accidentally interrupting. She realized her error and sucked in a breath, "S-sorry."

I laughed under my breath, "You're fine, just go fetch Tiki and Raimi. I'll see if I can handle Severa and Morgan soon."

Lucina nodded, then left. As her footsteps echoed down the hall, Cynthia turned to me.

"Sev's just upset. I'm sure everything is gonna be alright with her and Morgan." Cynthia gave me a slight smile, "I mean, Sev seems to like Sam so-"

"Like Sam?"

"Well-" Cynthia quickly backpedaled on her words, "She's not as mean to him as she is to the rest of us. Maybe it's because he saved her life or something?" She leaned towards me, "Or maybe she does, you know, like-like him."

I laughed at that, "Leave your gossip to the barracks, alright." I said giving her a small rub on her shoulder, "Now get your armor off and go rest. We are probably going to keep marching south tomorrow."

"Back home?" Cynthia asked.

I shrugged, "Either home, or just to the Longfort. That depends on what we think is best in the council."

_Raimi will want to try another stand at the Longfort. Tiki… I'm not sure what her input will be. Frederick will want to retreat to Nixtas, just south of the Longfort. Fight on our soil, but-_

"Auntie Lissa?" Cynthia began, dragging me out of my busy mind, "Do you um… need anything? You look very tired."

_Oh if only you knew._

"I'll be fine. Go be with your friends." I gave her a quick hug, "And I'm happy you got home safely. Please don't make me worry like that again."

Cynthia hugged me tight, "I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She nodded, her chin bouncing off of my shoulder.

"Good." I smiled, "Now go," I saw Tiki and Raimi marching towards my room, with Lon'qu and Frederick right behind them, "I'm about to be very busy."

"Okay." Cynthia spun on her heel, "Will you let us know when Sam's up? All of us are kinda worried about him."

I smiled softly at her. Naga, why does such an innocent, caring soul have to live in a hellish world like this one?

"Of course."

She smiled brightly then rushed down the hall, nearly knocking over Tiki as she sprinted away. She frantically apologized to Tiki, who seemed more amused than offended, before rushing off. Meanwhile, I took a deep breath and glanced over at the chest containing Gules.

"Time to figure out how we fight back."

**And chapter! I had so much fun writing this chapter. The inspiration to do an interlude actually came from two other Fire Emblem SI's: **_**Aberration**_** by RedXEagl3, and **_**Earthborne**_** by Mixed Valence. If you haven't checked those two stories out, go read them. Both of those guys have done fantastic work! Also, I felt this was a good time for a little pov change, just so we can see the situation from the POV of those who have lived in this hellscape for some time already. Also gave me a chance to explore the relationships each of these characters have with others, and with Sam, a little more; which was very nice.**

**Anyways, enough rambling. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you all think of it. As always, have a nice day!**

**Come check out the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	23. Breathe

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 22

Breathe

_Is this what getting hit by a bus feels like? Because damn that is what I feel like. I'm not even gonna try to open my eyes right now. Just gonna try to breathe. Nice and easy. A simple inhale and-_

"Fuck me that hurts." I hissed as my eyes shot open.

_Wait, did I say that out loud?_

A metal tray clattered to a stone floor, causing my ears to ring. Before I could even react, curse, or hiss at the sudden, loud noise, I heard feet rush out of whatever room I'm in, followed by a door banging against the wall, but not slamming closed. Whoever just rushed out was in such a hurry they forgot to close the door.

Not that I paid it any mind. I was way too busy realizing that I was a) in an enormous amount of pain- mostly throbbing, some pinching, and a good bit of stinging along my chest. God, my forehead itches like no tomorrow too- and B) the fact that I was staring up at a wooden ceiling. Last I checked, hospitals don't have wood ceilings. Neither do-

My eyes bugged from my skull as my brain quickly caught up with what I hope is recent events. My head sank further into my pillows as my entire form shrank into the sheets.

"Oh God, that all really happened."

I saw it all vividly flashing through my mind once again. The "battle" at Arena Ferox, where Grima himself rained hellfire down on everyone and everything felt so visceral, even when it was only within my thoughts. The terrifying moments after the battle, where I was chased by literal hell hounds down into a dark hole in the ground, confronted by a traitorous sorceress that I'm fairly certain really wants to kill me now, and the long march away from that place to… to…

_Where am I exactly?_

I gingerly raised my head from the soft pillow beneath me. My neck throbbed as every slight movement felt stiff and awkward. As I craned my neck, I got a good look at the room I was in.

The room was lightly furnished, as expected given the world I'm in and the circumstances it has. I highly doubt anyone in their right mind would be worried about making rooms extremely comfortable right now. There was a death dragon roaming the land, after all. Not much time to find good mahogany to make lots of unnecessary tables and shelves. I laid in a simple, twin bed, with a mattress made of what I assumed to be straw (if I judged the crunching beneath me correctly). There was a small, empty table next to me. A chest rested at the foot of the bed, and there was a window in the wall to my left, where bright sunlight filtered in through foggy panes of glass.

_Sunlight… that means I'm not in Regna Ferox. Last I checked, Grima's Shadow ate the sun there. And damn it, it's bright._

I winced and raised my left arm to shield my eyes from the brilliant rays of light. In the process, I clumsily clubbed my forehead with my hand. My knuckles hit a large, lumpy scab before I really felt the impact. My forehead throbbed, then I hissed and let my hand quickly drop.

"Ouch."

Frantic footsteps marched closer to my open door. I raised my brow, confused for a moment, until I saw a blur of blue surge at me.

"Samwise!"

Cynthia barreled into me, and I howled in pain, making the rambunctious princess leap off of me with a sheepish look, her face pink with embarrasement.

"Gawds, Cynthia." Severa droned as she walked in, her usual frown on her lips, "You have the awareness of a squirrel."

"I said I was sorry."

"Correction, you mentioned your feelings of guilt and shame only just now."

I blinked as Laurent walked in with both Miriel and Maribelle in front of him. His nose was buried in a book as he quickly scribbled notes down in it. Meanwhile, Maribelle marched to the left side of my bed, healing staff in hand, while Miriel moved to my right. A green glow fell over my body, and Miriel plucked my right hand, pinching it between two strong fingers and making me hiss in more pain.

"Pulse is adequate. Average even. A momentous improvement on your once catastrophic condition."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Laurent.

"She says you're much improved." He nodded, his overly large hat wobbling on his head.

"Absolutely improved." Maribelle huffed, the green glow of her staff fading, "In fact, you may be ready to move about with some assistance. Of course, no one should have doubted this since I saw to your recovery personally."

"I thought Brady also helped?" Cynthia chirped.

"He did." Severa said with a huff, "But don't let Lady Maribelle catch ya saying that."

I opened and closed my mouth, relieved to hear that I am… better? I don't feel very well; everything hurts still, but I'm also extremely confused at the moment. The last thing I remembered before waking up, was falling down in the middle of a snowy field on the edge of a pine forest, unable to continue walking.

"Can um… can someone bring me up to speed please?"

Before anyone could say anything, a new voice rose up above the others.

"All of you out!"

Severa sucked in a sharp breath, and whipped her head to the door, along with everyone else. I followed their gazes and saw Anna standing in the doorway, arms folded over her chest as she frowned at me. A frown that makes me shrink in my small bed.

"Anna," Maribelle started, "I still need to-"

"Out." Anna reiterated, adding a growl to her tone that shook the kids and managed to leave Maribelle looking quite offended.

With a sniff, the Duchess marched out, casting a stern glare at Anna as she walked past the disgruntled merchant. The kids tiptoed around her, giving her meek greetings that she returned with a simple nod. Miriel was the last to leave. She quietly handed Anna a bottle of purple liquid, muttered some things to her, then left, not even waiting for a reply.

As I heard their footsteps fade down the hall, Anna reached for the door and quietly shut it. As she closed it, she uttered a heavy sigh, keeping her eyes fixated on the flaking, wooden door.

I gulped nervously, "So," My hands tapped the mattress beneath me, "its- uh- been a minute, I'm guessing?"

Anna snorted at that, "A little more than a minute, kid." She patted the door then turned to face me, "More like a week."

My jaw fell open, "A-a week? I was out of it for a week?"

"New personal record huh?" She added with a dry laugh. "Didn't know if you were going to make it when Severa and Brady got you back here. You were… rough, to say the least. I'm sure you already know that. Can't imagine all of those bandages and salves are very comfortable."

I furrowed my brow as Anna moved across the room. She took a seat on the edge of the chest at the foot of my bed. Everything about Anna seemed off. She wasn't sitting with her usual, strong confidence. Her shoulders were hunched, as if a great burden rested on them that I could not see. Her eyes had large bags sitting beneath them. Fresh wrinkles sat on the corners of her eyes, ones I never noticed before. Overall, she looked like hell. Even her red hair, which she always kept neatly pulled back in a high ponytail, looked frayed in places.

"You okay?" I asked, making her scoff.

"I should be asking you that." She remarked as she rested her elbows on her knees, "For someone who nearly died, waking up a week later is still pretty damn remarkable." She gave me a small smile, "Guess you really are lucky."

I rolled my eyes, "I don't feel very lucky. Luck isn't supposed to hurt this much."

"Tell that to the dead." She snorted back, "There's a lot of them that were waiting for you to join them, but you managed to not go that way so…"

She paused, as if trying to figure out what to say next. At that moment, I noticed that she was not trying to figure out what to say, but was actually struggling with saying anything at all. I always knew Anna was not the most open person in the world. Even drunk she remained very guarded about her feelings. So what she said next made me realize just how close to death I really came.

"I'm glad to see you're okay, Sam."

I stared at her, thoroughly dumbstruck.

"Yeah, yeah." Anna sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, "I know you-"

"Same to you." I replied, dumbly.

Her head snapped up, then swiveled to me. I gave her a shrug.

"We got out of hell alive right? Twice now in fact. Well, probably more for you but-"

She hung her head and started chuckling, "Your goddamn foot Sam…"

My lips smacked closed, "Er- well-" I chuckled sheepishly, "uh… what now then?"

She kept chuckling under her breath as she got to her feet and moved to her bedside, "Do you know what a week in bed means?"

My face scrunched up as I thought hard for a moment, "Large appetite, very thirsty, and extreme stiffness?"

"It means you smell worse than a filthy pegasi stable."

My mouth fell open again, "Oh… uh well," I cleared my throat, "that would make some sense."

She rolled her eyes, then held out her hand, "C'mon already. Bath house isn't far."

I hesitated, then took her hand. With strength that really shouldn't surprise me anymore, but still does, she easily yanked me out of the bed and up onto my feet. I stumbled forward, muscles stiff as boards from lying still for so long. I winced as the muscles in my calves cramped up. Anna's free hand reached out and pushed against my chest, steadying me as I teetered back and forth.

"Take it easy now." She chided.

"You're the one who yanked me out of bed after a week-long coma." I snipped back, a light smile on my lips as I felt cold, wooden floorboards brushing against my toes.

Anna huffed, "Naga, it was a week long nap. Not like you're some wizened old fool who can't stand up."

"Just a young one." I remarked, making her shake her head.

"Sometimes Sam…"

It took me a couple moments before I could get my legs to start moving. Even then, I could only manage a meek shuffle along the floor towards the door. I felt like I had weights strapped around my ankles. Each footstep felt heavy and awkward. Only one other time in my life have I ever felt like this, and that was the one time I had to stay overnight at a hospital because I got sick. That visit wiped me out, and the night I was in the hospital involved me walking like this whenever I had to get up- shuffling along like an old man in need of a cane. I could tell the slow pace was grating against Anna's thin patience, but she bit her tongue. No scathing remarks came out. She simply guided me out of the room, down the hall, out the doors of the barracks we were in, and out into the yard of a stone castle.

It seemed like a quaint place. Cold, not the most cozy looking of buildings around, but quaint. The kind of castle you'd imagine exists in a medieval setting. The yard was mostly frozen mud with bits of straw thrown in to help the ground dry out quickly. A large town lay beyond a gate made of iron bars, which told me I was within a fortress inside of said town. There were short, stone walls surrounding the barracks Anna and I came out of. Stout looking fortifications, with wide battlements and a trio of stone towers overlooking the town. Behind me, after a cursory glance over my shoulder, stood a two story keep, with additional fortifications on its roof. The Exalt's banner fluttered in the cold wind that brushed over the fort, and I shivered as that same wind bit into me.

"Get those feet moving or you'll freeze again." Anna scolded me, "Bathhouse is only a little further."

True to her word, the bathhouse was not far at all. It was a squat, stone building with a heavy, tiled roof. Plumes of smoke rose out of a pair of chimneys in the roof. To me, it looked like most of the building was built beneath the ground. The doors looked a lot shorter than the door leading into the barracks, and certainly shorter than the Keep's doors.

Anna guided me to the door on the right.

"Guy's side." She briefly explained as she opened the door and ushered me inside.

I expected to be left to my own devices at this point, but when I heard her footsteps follow me in, I froze.

"Uh… you just said-"

"Relax, Sam." Anna interrupted.

I took a deep breath, nodded, then glanced around. The best way I could describe the room we entered is that it looked like an old school locker room, minus the metal lockers. Wood cubbies lined the walls, each one with a brass hook inside of them. A few old benches, worn down by years of use, sat in front of the cubbies. The floor was made of stone, but instead of feeling icy against my bare feet, it felt strangely warm. I raised an eyebrow, then looked over at Anna.

"Fires are burning in the changing rooms when they are in use." She nodded over to the fireplace against the wall on my left, "Keeps the room itself warm." She tapped her foot, "As for the floor, this place is built on a natural hot spring."

"Hot spring?"

Oh god that sounded dumb, but Anna was used to that coming from me. I knew what a hot spring was, but I had never been in one before. Hell, I'd never even seen a hot spring before. The closest thing I ever came to bathing in a hot spring was going into a swimming pool in Florida, during the summertime. But I could not really communicate that to Anna at the moment. Reason number one being she genuinely thought I didn't know what a hot spring was. Reason number 2, right as she was about to explain to me in a not so demeaning way what I was about to go bathe in, two men emerged from a door at the other end of the room, towels wrapped around their waists. Both of them froze when they saw me and Anna, light blushes coming over their cheeks. Anna merely shrugged.

"I can understand the blush coming from Frederick, but you should feel a bit more shame there Donnel."

"Anna!" Frederick exclaimed, "N-Naga, this is the men's side!"

"And?" Anna snorted, "I'm a grown woman. It's not like I haven't seen it all before."

"I hope you haven't seen it all before." Frederick muttered.

"If she did, Mari would've already killed me." Donnel gulped.

"Not from you two." Anna huffed, then blinked. I saw the gears turning in her mind, "Hey, boys, how do you feel about two baths in a day."

Donnel furrowed his brow, puzzled, "We just got out of-"

"Anna…" Frederick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he caught on to where she was going with her train of thought.

"Um, Anna," I looked down at my feet, trying to hide my own embarrassment, "I can bathe myself."

"Well yeah, I know that. Not like I'm asking them to scrub you down." Anna remarked, "Just for them to keep an eye on you. You may be good to move around, but your body still has its limits. Ain't that right, Freddy?"

Frederick scowled back, "Yes."

"And as a good knight of Ylisse, he is duty bound to assist those who need assistance. Same with Sir Donnel over there, right boys?"

Donnel's mind finally caught up, "O-oh, uh… well I'm already kinda pruning up on my fingers and toes, so-"

"Both of you help Sam take a bath and I'll make sure a few jars of soup are added to your rations."

"Done!" Both Frederick and Donnel nodded.

My gut dropped when the deal was made. I glanced over at Anna, and she glared back at me. It was a look that told me I owed her one. Which didn't make much sense to me, because I didn't ask for this, but there was also no point in arguing with Anna. I've learned that arguing with her tends to end badly for me, and thus I decided to spare myself some pain and give her a nervous smile instead.

"Th-thanks, I guess?"

She nodded, then moved to the door. As she opened the door, she paused.

"I'll get some food ready for you, Sam. Just drop back into the barracks once you're done here."

She didn't say another word as she left. The door shut behind her with a crack, not slowed down at all by the rickety old hinges it hung on. Once she was gone, Donnel exhaled and Frederick continued scowling.

"Undress, Samwise." The Knight-Commander ordered before turning and marching back through the door he came.

"Hey wait a damn minute you can't just- ah hell!" Donnel exclaimed as he watched Frederick leave me alone with him. A heavy breath seeped out of his nose, and I saw his lips move as he muttered under his breath. He glanced over at me, sharp glare peaking through long locks of wet, lavender hair.

"Ya gonna strip, or do ya need help with that?"

I jumped, "N-no I can-"

"Good." Donnel nodded. He jabbed a thumb to the door behind him, "Baths are that way. Bring a towel with ya."

"And where is a tow… el?"

He went back through the door before I could finish my question. My arms hung loose at my sides as I watched the wood door he walked through swing back and forth like doors on an old west saloon. As it swung, steam filtered out into the changing room, adding more heat and humidity to the space.

_So much for the help. _I thought, a bit of grumpiness coming over me as my eyes scanned the room for towels.

I eventually found a stack of them near the roaring fire. After grabbing one, I undressed. A task that proved to be much more difficult than I thought as my body fought my every move. Each stiff muscle groaned, every joint creaked, as they were used for the first time in days. After about a minute or two of fighting with the simple white shirt I was wearing, I finally managed to peel it up over my head. I tossed it into one of the cubbies near the door, then got out of my pants. I then wrapped the towel around my thin waist. As I knotted the towel, I noticed a mirror near the fireplace. Out of curiosity, I decided to take a glance.

I knew it was me, but I still did not recognize the person looking back at me.

I have always been a bit on the scrawny side. Never able to put on much fat, or muscle, even though I ate garbage and did manual labor during the summer months back home. But the person looking back at me, through the mirror, looked too thin. Any body fat that I did have was gone. There was still some muscle in there, but not much. If I wanted to, I could probably wrap my hand around my forearm with ease. My face looked gaunt, with slightly hollow cheeks and dark, sunken eyes. I definitely did not look very healthy.

My attention then turned to the top of my head, where I saw the next extremely unfamiliar thing about me. I never had long hair before. I always kept my hair on the short side. It was easier to take care of that way. But now, after several months in Ylisse, and with no time to give myself a haircut (how do they even do that in this place?), my brown hair had grown down close to my shoulders. Not quite touching, but give it another week, and I would have some seriously long locks. There was a fair bit of dark stubble along my jaw and chin too. I could never grow facial hair back home, but somehow living the rugged life of a soldier in medieval times must've triggered something. That, or I really have neglected shaving for that long.

_It's not like I did it that often back home either._

Then there were the scars. Before I arrived in this world, I only had one scar on my whole body- a line on my chin, just below my lip, from when I fell while ice skating as a kid. That scar was barely visible as time turned it into a faint, pale line. The scars I saw on me now were anything but faint. A thin, pink ribbon of fresh skin ran from armpit to armpit; the wound I received from a friendly soldier during the chaos of Arena Ferox. A lump of ugly flesh sat along my right hip, where Tharja's spell that killed Gaius grazed me. A deep, wide gash rested along my ribs from when a Risen nearly killed me as I took his attack for Severa. All were battle scars that only caused the reality I lived in to sink in further.

_I wound up a soldier. _A shuddering breath left my lungs as my heart ached at the thought, _The one thing I never wanted to be… and here I am._

The door to the baths creaked, and Donnel peaked his head out.

"Samwise are ya…"

His voice trailed off as he caught sight of me through the steam. I figured that maybe he saw me already stripped down and figured I was about to walk over, so he went back to his business. Instead, I heard bare feet padding towards me. One hand patted my shoulder and Donnel joined me in the mirror, a towel around his waist.

"C'mon already."

His voice sounded far less gruff now. Did I detect sympathy? Sympathy from the guy that took pleasure in beating the ever living crap out of me with his bare fists? It sure caught me off guard.

Wordlessly, I walked with Donnel into the baths. There were several natural pools in the rocky ground, filled with steaming hot water. Frederick lounged in the largest one, head resting back against the rocks. He cracked an eye open as Donnel and I entered, furrowed his brow as he saw me, then closed his eyes again.

Both Donnel and I joined him in the largest pool. The hot water stung against my cold skin as I sank into it. I hissed for a brief second, then uttered a satisfied sigh as all of the tension and stiffness in my muscles ebbed away.

"Soap's in the buckets." Donnel remarked, "Try not to sud it all up too much."

Again, no bite in his voice. None of that edge that made me think he wanted to strangle me. Just a quiet, gentle voice. Something I did not expect from the rough and tumble soldier that was Donnel.

I reached for the closest bucket, pulled out a bar of soap, and started scrubbing. God, I did not think a bath could feel this good! The hot water, the soap; after everything I've been through, this felt like just the thing I needed.

The bar ran over the fresh ribbon of lumpy skin along my chest, and it stung. No… not just stung, it was downright painful. I grit my teeth, hand freezing over the spot. I sank a little bit in my seat along the pool's edge, till the water ran up to my chin. The pain did not go away, even as my mind drifted away from it, and towards the horrors of Arena Ferox.

It was all in front of me again. Libra's dead body, lying atop the splintered door to Khan Flavia's chambers. Grima towering over the Arena as he prepared to rain hellfire down upon all who dared oppose him. The Risen shrieking in my ears, mingled with the cries of the dying. Most terrible of all, I could see my desperate melee with one of the bandits in service to Grima. The desperate struggle played through my mind all over again. Each punch, each kick, each painful blow till finally I wrapped my arms around his head, uttered a cry, and yanked as hard as I-

"Samwise!"

Frederick's stern voice snapped me out of my frantic mind. I found myself standing up, out of the pool, hands shaking, head twitching as the muscles in my neck spasmed due to how tense they were. I grit my teeth, trying to force my head to stop moving as I remained rooted where I stood.

Donnel looked up at me from where he sat, "Sit down, Samwise."

I swallowed hard, "I-I-It's um- I-" I inhaled a shallow breath, then flopped back down onto my butt, not caring how much it hurt as I hit the stone floor at the bottom of the pool hard.

_What is going on?_

I spun around the bandit, wrapped my hands around his head, and with one sharp jerk-

_Stop!_

"Hey, Sam." Donnel's voice mercifully got me out of my mind again. I found him staring at me, gaze significantly softer than I used to seeing. His eyes roved over me for a moment, then he nodded, "Yeah… I get what you're feeling."

"Donnel…" Frederick muttered, his voice low with warning.

"He's seen hell, Frederick." Donnel grumbled. He leaned back against the pool's rocky edge, "If ya want my opinion, you can quit being a dick to him."

"Donnel!" Frederick remarked, aghast.

"Ya don't like the language, go hang out with Mari." Donnel replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Fact of the matter is, ya don't gotta be a dick anymore. Sam's survived the worst. That's gotta count for something."

My eyes flicked back and forth between the two as they started to bicker with each other. As they argued, I felt my mind drifting again. This time, it drifted to the very start of the massacre. When both me and Morgan were stranded on the Khan's balcony, watching as-

…

…

Morgan and I were stranded together.

_Why did I wake up alone?_

Water splashed, and Frederick rose to his feet. He marched out of the pool a frown on his face. As he exited the baths, and left the room, Donnel uttered a heavy breath.

"Don't pay him too much thought, kid. Freddy's just a stern fellow. It takes a bit for him to warm up to people." The disheveled knight scratched at an itch on top of his scalp, "I'm sure by the end of the day, he'll come by and apologize to ya for his little fit."

"His fit?" I blinked, "I hardly noticed."

Donnel smirked a little bit, "Probably for the better. Still, I'll tell ya not to take Freddy's words to heart. Few people can do what he does, and even fewer can keep their resolve through it. That coldness he's got is probably why he hasn't gone insane yet." He sucked in a deep breath through his nose, then exhaled, eyes closing as he sank further into the hot water, "But… in case he still has a conniption about all this later, I'll apologize for him."

I furrowed my brow, a bit confused, "Uh… okay then?"

Donnel simply nodded, and my confusion grew. Why was he being so docile? I expected him to treat me similar to how Frederick did. That was how we normally interacted anyways. In fact, Donnel's training somehow felt harsher than Frederick's. Yet now, Donnel did not have any harsh words, or even any stern scoldings. Instead, he laid back and rested, while encouraging me, in his own way.

_How hard did I hit my head in the battle?_

I cleared my throat, and Donnel cracked an eye open.

"What kid?"

After a quick mental debate, that ended with me deciding not to ask any questions, I still asked a question.

"What's going on?"

Donnel arched an eyebrow as his eyes remained half closed, "What do ya mean?"

"I mean just… first Anna is treating me nice, for her. Then you're actually not beating me up and-"

"Kid, I ain't gonna sugar coat this, but you should be dead."

I snorted, "Yeah, well tell me something I don't know."

"No, Sam." Donnel's voice had a bite to it now. One that shut me up real quick. He sat up straight, eyes open as he stared right at me, "You. Should. Be. Dead. Ain't no one can make it through what you did. When the kids found ya, you were nearly frozen to death, on top of all the wounds ya had. So, you wanna know why everyone's all of a sudden treating ya like a delicate flower? It's cause it's a damn miracle you're even around at all. I don't think I need to tell ya how sorely lacking we've been when it comes to miracles as of late."

His words sank in as I remained silent. Was my condition really that bad when they found me? I don't recall it being that bad? I mean sure, I assumed the reason I blacked out was because of exhaustion and possible hypothermia, but not my wounds. I managed to walk far enough for help to find me, after all. And yet, the proof of what Donnel said rested on my body. My bone thin stature, the scars running along my torso, all evidence that I should not be alive.

_Yet here I am, still breathing._

"Okay," I exhaled, "But… that still doesn't entirely explain why you're suddenly so nice too."

Donnel inclined his chin. He pressed his lips into a thin line, then sighed.

"You've got the look now."

"What look?"

"The look of a soldier that's seen it: the shit." Donnel explained in no uncertain terms, "You've been through hell's fire and came out alive. Doing that doesn't just come with physical scars, kid." His throat bobbed, "I know how easy it is to get lost in it all, like you did just now."

My eyes slowly widened, "Wh-what? Are you saying that I've been traumatized?"

"I'm saying you're a soldier now. At least in my book you are." Donnel followed up. His arms rose out of the water and rested on the slick rocks along the pool's edge, "All soldiers are traumatized." A faraway look entered his eyes, "Mine just so happened to come along a while ago."

My throat bobbed. Quietly, I set the bar of soap still in my grasp back in the bucket. My jaw worked back and forth as I had a mental debate again. But… these were all new feelings for me. It put my life back home into a stark perspective. Made me realize just how good I actually had it. I mean sure, I scraped by to make a living, but I never had to fight for my life. I never had to worry about dying, or being wounded, or surviving the apocalypse. The most traumatizing thing that could happen to me on a daily basis back home was having a potential customer cuss me out for knocking on their door. That now seemed so trivial that just thinking about it made me want to laugh out loud. I'd gladly take doors slamming in my face over what I had been through over the past three months. At least I knew how to cope with rude customers and angry bosses.

I didn't know how to deal with the kind of trauma I was feeling now.

"Before ya ask, cause I can tell ya want to." Donnel croaked, "I don't know how to handle it either. I mean… everyone goes about it differently. The kids who've seen battle: Inigo, Lucy, Gerome, Morgan, Sev, they're a bit more resilient. Anna, well, Anna retreats into herself. Ya ain't gonna pry anything from her about how she feels. Freddy throws himself further into his work, as does Lissa. Mari gets… overbearing as shit." I shared a quiet laugh with Donnel at that, "And me, well, I don't go about it the best of ways. A bottle only numbs it for so long."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. There was no blueprint, no guide, no book on how to handle PTSD. The feelings I had were my own, and I had to deal with them in my own way. Hopefully in a way that was not self destructive, if I caught on to what Donnel was saying at the end there.

"How did it happen for you?" I muttered, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them.

Donnel's face hardened, and I worried he was about to surge across the pool and punch me. Then I realized, the hardening in his eyes was not because he was angry. It was because he was seeing it all again, like me.

"Themis." He replied, voice like a whisper in the quiet room, "My… well, what used to be me and Mari's home." He shifted in his seat, arms falling back into the water as he seemingly shrank in front of me, "That siege was," The faraway looked reamined in his eyes as he lingered on the memories, "it makes Arena Ferox look like nothing. But it wasn't the main battle that did it for me. I'd fought in the Valm war already at that point. I could handle myself fine on the battlefield." His jaw clenched tight, and his arms tensed as his fists clenched beneath the clear water, "I was captured by Grima, during the last days of the siege. Me, Virion, Cherche, and Gregor, we-" He choked on his words at that point, and I quickly raised a hand.

"Donnel you don't-"

"No, no, ya need to hear this now." He sniffled as he raised his gaze again, eyes now raw, "Ya got me going, so you're gonna know." He took a deep breath as he tried to collect himself, "Um… well, I don't know why Grima's forces decided to capture us. Just know that… that he took us to what may as well have been hell. All four of us were chained up, put on our knees in front of Grimleal mages still in service to him." He swallowed hard, "They… they killed Cherche first. Made Virion watch the entire time as they fed her to their undead wyverns. After that, they put Virion out of his misery. He stopped screaming at some point, so they killed him cause he was no longer fun. A quick slit of the throat for him, then the hounds had their fun with his body."

My entire body shivered at the thought of the Risen hounds. I remained deathly quiet across the pool, my eyes wide as I listened to Donnel recount what happened at Themis.

"Skinned Gregor next." My mind drifted to the time Anna told me about that, and I recalled the enormous change in demeanor she had when she briefly mentioned the terrible memory to me, "While he was bleeding like a stuck pig, they had these bugs crawl in and out of him. They ended up killing him. Those mages called it a failed experiment."

Donnel's jaw was clenched tight now. If I could see his fists beneath the water, I was sure they would be white with strain.

"They were gonna do the same thing to me that they did to Gregor." His voice was so quiet I could hardly hear him as he spoke. The trickling of water from the pools surrounding us threatened to drown him out, but he managed to continue, "That's when… that's when Anna and Gaius showed up. Those two- heh- those two were both guardian angels to me, and angels of death to those damn mages. I don't think I've ever seen 'em fight like that before. Even saw Gaius take down a Wyvern on his own while Anna cut me loose." His lips pursed tight as he took a breath. Water rippled around him as he raised his right arm, revealing the stump it ended in, "Didn't get out unscathed though."

I swallowed hard, "I guess I really am lucky then."

Donnel nodded, "More than ya know, kid." His voice sounded like a whisper as he spoke, "More than ya know." He sniffed, coughed into his one hand, then rose from the water, "I'm gonna get outta here now. Are you good to be alone?"

"I think I'm gonna leave too actually." I grimaced, "Stuff still hurts. Probably need to get back to lying down somewhere."

"Aye, that ya do." Donnel agreed as he walked around the pool and offered me a helping hand.

As Donnel hauled me out of the pool, nearly jerking me up through the air like a ragdoll, my mind continued to linger on Arena Ferox. Part of me felt like I really lucked out. I mean, I lived, so I guess I did. At the same time though, I could have lived and wound up in a situation similar to Donnel's in Themis.

No wonder he changed so much compared to how I knew him in the original Awakening game. The Donnel from the game lost his "aw shucks" demeanor when he watched his friends die in front of him, powerless to stop it. I wondered if that cheerful farmer ever came back out of him from time to time. If so, I had yet to witness it.

He was quiet as we returned to the changing room. I quietly slipped back into the loose clothes I wore when I woke up, then glanced back at Donnel as he shrugged on a tight, leather jerkin.

"Hey Donnel."

"What kid?"

"Why did you tell me all of that?"

Donnel glanced back at me as he tightened the jerkin over his torso, "Cause," he began with a shrug, "Ya get it now. And…" He paused a moment, "Well, figured it would serve as a good warning for ya."

"Warning?"

"Yeah." He turned to face me, "Don't wind up like me, Sam. Be better. Even with as young as ya are, I can see how those kids look at ya. I hear about ya from Brady, and he does have some respect for ya. Respect that… well… not sure if he really has it for me anymore. Keep that, and hold it tight. It'll help keep ya sane."

He tossed his towel into a hamper near the door, then walked out, leaving me alone in the steamy, warm changing room. I furrowed my brow as his words sank in.

He gave me his story as a warning. A warning to avoid breaking. But how could I do that? If anything, I was the most liable to completely snap among the Shepherds. I was from a world that was pure luxury compared to this one, even with my "low" standard of living in an apartment in Wisconsin.

So how could I avoid breaking? I mulled over Donnel's last words to me. They weren't exactly the clearest of advice. The kids respected me? I found that hard to believe. At the same time, they did go out looking for me when they could have very easily assumed I was dead and moved on. The kids cared about me, and in return, I cared about them. After spending these last few months among this ragged company of soldiers, I found myself struggling to imagine life without them. I found it even hard to imagine losing one of them.

That was it! That is what Donnel was trying to tell me. Keep the Shepherds close. Let them be my support. Don't withdraw into my own mind, and instead let the others help me through the hard times. Don't wind up like him.

I glanced back to the mirror and studied my bony figure.

"Well… first things first then." I muttered. I tossed my dirty towel into the hamper, then marched to the door, "Time to figure out when I can start getting back into shape."

* * *

The answer to that previous question: not today, not tonight, not for a few days.

I asked Maribelle when I could start getting my body back into some semblance of fighting shape, and I received one of the most stern talks I had ever had in my life. For such an unassuming lady who likes to wear pink, frilly outfits; she could be damn intimidating. I finally understood why Brady tiptoed around her the way he did after the tongue lashing she gave me. Maybe it was just stress getting to her, but her tone felt especially biting when I asked my question.

To sum up her reply, I could not begin training again for at least a week, and that's if my recovery goes as planned. My body was apparently far too weak and malnourished to handle any sort of physical activity beyond walking around. Any further strain might cause me to injure myself further. I considered arguing with her at the time, but Anna came to my rescue, stopping me from jamming my foot way down my throat (as usual).

Since then, I've been in the barracks. A small fire burned in the fireplace of the barracks common room. This barracks was furnished way more comfortably than the barracks we had in Arena Ferox. The chairs were plush, the room properly insulated to keep the biting cold out, a healthy counter space for either food prep or drinking, and a cozy rug on the floor that felt amazing against my bare feet. Overall, a nice space. Perfect for assisting me through what would hopefully be a quick recovery.

After I took a bath, and got into a change of clothes that were waiting for me back in my room, I spent most of the day here, by myself. Anna made sure to drop by with a bowl of bland, pea soup for me to eat. I pouted a little bit at that, but she made sure to remind me that I would probably throw up anything else, so it'd be better for me to just eat. Then she left to do… something or another, not really sure what.

As for everyone else, I wasn't really sure where they were either. After I woke up they all kinda just went about their daily duties.

If I had to take a guess, Cynthia would be in the Pegasi stables. Owain and Inigo were probably training, along with Kjelle and Severa. Noire was probably with her father, along with Laurent, and Miriel; the trio of mages working on their research while Noire assisted them. Nah was probably... actually, I have no idea what Nah would be doing. Same goes for Gerome. I could never get a read on either of them. Brady was probably assisting his Mom in the Fort's infirmary. If I had to take a guess on Yarne, I'd say he was hiding beneath a table somewhere nearby. Finally, I figured Morgan was busy with the top brass, since she was apparently one of the tacticians that assisted Exalt Lissa with strategy.

Morgan was someone I actually really felt the need to talk to. Mostly because I had a feeling she knew exactly who we saw speaking to Khan Flavia before Grima obliterated the Arena. No one had mentioned that to me yet, which gave me the impression that Morgan hasn't told anyone about what happened. She's probably still reeling from it all. Since we shared that terrifying experience, maybe I could talk to her somehow.

_Then again, I'm not very good at talking in general._

I was pulled from my thoughts by the door to the barracks opening then closing. A pair of feet stomped against the stone floor, and I looked back to see Anna knocking snow from her boots.

"Gods, you'd think after we got south of the Longfort we'd have gotten away from the damn snow." She grumbled.

I furrowed my brow, "It's winter though."

"Don't remind me." She groaned as she shrugged off her coat and tossed it over onto a bench near the counter.

Anna quietly walked over to the fire, threw a fresh log into it, then took a seat in a chair next to me. With a low groan, she kicked her feet up over one leg of the chair while keeping her eyes on the fire.

We sat there, utterly silent for a few moments. I've never been one to start conversations, mostly because I never know what anyone wants to talk about. Call it social anxiety, call it lack of socializing growing up, call it just being dumb, I can never initiate any sort of conversation with someone without the other person bringing up a topic first.

Which is exactly what happened now. Anna glanced over at me as I looked into the fire, probably with a grim expression on my face.

"So… how was the bath?"

I blinked, "Uh well um-"I cleared my throat, "Refreshing."

She nodded, "Good. Figured it would help get you moving again. I hope Donnel and Frederick were helpful."

"Donnel yes, Frederick-"

Anna rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Damn knight." She mumbled, "I give him one job and he…" She huffed through her nose then glanced over at me again as I remained quiet, "Something's eating at you."

"Hm?"

"Do I have to be more specific or something?" She asked, sounding a touch irritated as she shifted in her seat so she could face me, "C'mon, spill it."

Oh? She could tell I was having a rough day huh? I mean, I guess Donnel could tell too. Did I really look that bad? Judging by how I appeared in the mirror, the answer was probably a yes.

"Just trying to distract myself somehow." I muttered.

Anna opened her mouth in understanding. Unlike Donnel, she did not appear eager to press the issue. That's just how she was. Anna never tackled anything emotional head-on. I've picked that up over the months we've worked together. She tended to treat emotional problems like she did our missions: by skirting around the real danger while somehow managing to accomplish the objective.

"Alrighty then." She sighed, "Let's figure out a distraction."

"Anna, really I'll be-"

"Let's see." She cut me off and quickly flicked her gaze to the door. She then nodded her head, "Alright, the kids shouldn't be back for a while now. So, tell me more about your old life."

"My old life?" I snorted, "What more do you want to know?"

"What did you do for fun?"

I drew back, "That's a pretty broad question."

"And that's Sam speak for you have no idea how to answer the question."

My mouth opened and closed, stunned by her reply, "I-I- I have my own language?"

"Mhmm," Anna nodded, "You never like to give me a straight answer. Almost like you're afraid to give your opinion at all."

I blinked, "Huh," I drew in a deep breath, "Definitely heard that one before."

"Oh? So this was a problem back in your old world?"

I gave Anna a withering look, and she returned my glare with a smug smile.

"There's an opinion if I've ever seen one."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah." A heavy huff left my lips, "Alright, fair enough. I don't know how to answer that very general question."

"Ah, so you want a more specific one then?"

I returned my weary gaze to Anna, and I saw her grinning from ear to ear. A shit-eating grin that told me she was enjoying making me squirm like this. Nothing has changed in our relationship after all, despite my near death experience. Of course a little more respect was too much to hope for… okay that's probably a little harsh.

She snickered lightly at my look, "Alright, what did you do in your free time, when you weren't selling grass."

I snorted, "I didn't sell grass. I sold stuff to make grass grow."

"So you sold cow manure?"

"Might as well have been." I muttered under my breath, shuddering at how the fertilizer I used to work with stank whenever I opened a bag. It wasn't exactly shit per say, more like little white chemical pellets, but God did it smell like shit, "But that doesn't really go along with your question, does it? And, before I go any further, is this a test?"

She raised her brow, "A test?"

"Like last time, when you weaseled information out of me. Of course, last time involved a knife grazing my balls." Anna did her best to suppress a laugh, and I looked at her even more strangely than before, "You drunk or something?"

Anna shook her head, "No, just…" She drew in a deep breath, "I kinda need a distraction right now too. Arena Ferox is sitting pretty heavy on everyone's minds, mine included. And you, well, you've got this uncanny ability to make utter nonsense seem completely fascinating."

"Thanks for the backhanded compliment."

"You're most welcome." Anna chirped back as she lounged in her chair, "Alright, c'mon, what did you do when you weren't working? Hang out friends?"

I shook my head, "Not really."

"Why not?"

I shrugged, "They were all at school, and I was not."

She gave me a perplexed look, "School?"

"You know, a University. Well, I guess the comparable here would be the Mage's Academy back in Ylisstol. Only no one studied magic, because magic is a fairy tail where I come from. They studied math, science, literature, stuff like that. Most of the friends I had, well… what few I did have, went off to school. As for me, well, I couldn't afford it. So, I got to work and started trying to provide for myself."

Anna nodded, "Admirable in my opinion."

"Th-thanks. Though, I wasn't very good at it. Lived off of cheap cheeseburgers, generic pop, and ramen noodles." I could already see her face screwing into a confused expression, "I'll explain later. You wanted to know what I did in my free time?"

"Yeah. If you didn't spend time with friends, then what did you do? Read all day?"

Again I shook my head, "After high school my reading habits fell apart."

"Then you just sat around doing nothing?"

That made me snort out a laugh, "Brutally honest way of putting it there."

I pursed my lips as I thought back to my old life. God, it felt so distant now. Just a few months fighting for my life, and already my old life in Wisconsin felt like a distant memory. Looking back on it now, I realized just how dull it really was. I did, quite literally, nothing; save for work, eating, and occasionally going to the grocery store. I stayed in my cramped apartment, too nervous about the world around me to dare step foot into it. A hermit living in a city- quite the oxymoron there. Then, I got hit by a bus, and that changed out of necessity.

_Good grief, my life has turned out strange._

"Well, other than sitting around like a lazy ass all day," I began, "I enjoyed listening to music."

"Ah, so you frequented the place where a bard would play then?" Anna asked, "Or musician?"

I shook my head, an amused expression on my face now, "No, no. Um- do you remember the phone?"

Anna gave me a quick nod, "Hard to forget that device. It's still in your stuff by the way."

I blinked. I have stuff? Since when? Well, I guess after spending time in a new home, I was bound to collect some personal belongings. My mother always called me a pack-rat after all. I was very good at collecting useless junk (my baseball card collection back home was gigantic).

"Yeah, well. I could store music on my phone, and play a song at any time using it."

Anna furrowed her brow. I could tell she was having a hard time believing me, perhaps even struggling to comprehend the concept behind iTunes, Spotify, and the equivalents. But I think the fact that I was talking about a device she had already seen rendered the doubts in her mind moot. She slowly nodded her head as she leaned back in her chair.

"Alright, you listened to music through the phone. What kind?" She smirked, "More songs like that one you sang to the kids on our way to Port Ferox?"

I snorted, "What, Johnny Cash? I mean… my parents liked him. I enjoyed his stuff too, but he wasn't my first choice."

"Then who did you prefer to listen to?"

I cringed, "I uh… doubt you'd get it."

"And that's Sam-speak for you don't know how to explain a certain topic."

I hung my head, "How am I that easy to read?"

Anna chuckled lightly as the fresh log she flung into the fire earlier popped, the sap lingering in the wood boiling from the flames, "Sam, when you're a merchant for as long as me, you tend to get very good at reading people. And when I come across a naive person like you well, to use a Gaius expression, it's like taking candy from a baby."

A sad smile crossed my face at the mention of Gaius. God, I missed that thief. When we got back to Ylisstol, I'd have to make sure to get his stash open and spread the wealth, just as he would have wanted. Yarne would get the first pick, obviously. After that, probably Sev and the kids. Then-

"Hey, Sam."

I shook my head, "Uh, sorry, what?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "Off into that head of yours again? At least tell me you weren't thinking about the Arena."

"I wasn't." I said quickly. I cleared my throat, wincing as some lingering pain from my injuries throbbed along my back and torso, "Anyways, um, yeah; I have no idea how to explain the music I liked to listen to to you."

Anna shrugged, "Well that's all you had to say."

I blinked, surprised, "Really?"

"You'll just have to sing me your favorite song then."

Panic! Now was the time to panic! Embarrassment flushed over my face in a crimson wave, and Anna perked up at the blush in my cheeks.

"Oh, now I gotta know."

"Musical taste is very personal where I come from!" I cried.

"How bawdy is it?" She teased.

"I-it's not bawdy!" I cried, my mouth gaping open at the implications behind her statement, "It's just not the happiest song in the world. And well, music here is very different compared to music back home."

"Not stopping me from asking."

I narrowed my eyes at Anna as I still struggled to get rid of the blush on my face, "When did you become a music lover?"

Anna sniffed at that, "What do you mean? I've always enjoyed music. Whenever I was on the road, and I had the chance to rest in a tavern, the minstrel or bard that played songs in the common rooms would be a pleasant pick-me-up for the rest of the journey. Hell, other than a good book, that would often be the only entertainment I'd get for months at a time." She sat upright in her chair, "And you're going to stop dodging the question." I groaned at that, "Your favorite, sing it."

"I don't even remember all of it."

Anna arched an eyebrow, "How can you not remember your favorite song?"

"There have been a lot of favorites." I replied with a defeated sigh. She was not going to let this one go, was she, "You swear not to judge."

She raised her right hand, but kept her left hand tucked against the armrest of her chair, "Swear."

"You're not crossing your fingers?"

"Why Sam, a merchant has to have some honor. Otherwise deals can never be made." She replied. An innocent look rested on her face, but there was that same devious gleam in her red eyes that made me uneasy.

_Better to just get it over with. Maybe I'll stop being pestered then._

"Well um… I'm not a very good singer, and I have no music to help me out so uh… just, keep that in mind."

I cleared my throat and paused, my brain quickly running through a list of songs I listened to regularly. One came up in my mind. It was one I was listening to on near repeat for a while, before the bus knocked my lights out and transported me to another universe. I couldn't recall all of the lyrics, but I could definitely recall the main part of it. It resonated with me, for some strange reason, and I could never place why.

_Here goes nothing._

"_Son, I have watched you fade in…_

_You will watch me fade out…_

_I have watched you fade in, you will watch me fade out_

_When the grip leave my hand_

_I know you won't let me down._

_Go, and find your way._

_Leave me in your wake._

_Always push through the pain_

_And Don't run away from change_

_Never settle, make your mark_

_Hold your head up, follow your heart_

_Follow your heart…"_

I trailed off as the rest of the lyrics to the song faded from my mind, like a distant memory. With great hesitation, I glanced over at Anna. She didn't have an amused look on her face anymore. Instead, her expression seemed unreadable. Her brow was furrowed, but she wasn't frowning. So I don't think she was upset. At the same time though, Anna could be very unreadable, so maybe I'm just misinterpreting this entirely.

"Definitely not upbeat." She muttered, "Could hardly hear you since you were whispering the lyrics."

I blushed again, "Yeah, well, I'm not all that confident in my singing ability."

Anna shrugged, "Eh, you're not bad. Not Donnel or Brady levels of good, but you won't make my ears bleed." She folded her left leg over her right, one hand reaching for her chin as she retreated into her thoughts, "Not a bad song either."

"Yeah well, I didn't expect you to-" _Hey, Space Cadet, she liked it! _"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I liked it. It's not a happy song. Definitely not one to get a crowd rowdy at the local tavern, but there's some deep meaning to it."

I raised my brow, surprised, "R-really, well um-"

"You're surprised I'm reading this much into it, hm?"

A sheepish smile crossed my lips, "A little?"

Anna snorted at that, "I may be a merchant, but I'm a cultured merchant, Sam. With all the places I've been to, I've learned to pick up some skills other than killing, selling, and reading people." She took a breath, "As for what I think the song you just sang means, I think it's a passing of the torch. It's a mentor telling a student that they're ready to be on their own. That they're ready for the trials to come in life. And those words are his last pieces of wisdom to the student."

I blinked, "Huh."

"What?"

A small smile formed on my face, "Not a bad way of looking at it. I guess you're right, now that I think about it."

She furrowed her brow, more puzzled than before, "You mean you've never really thought about what your favorite song meant?"

I shrugged back, "I always thought it just sounded good."

Anna now looked a little aghast, "Was society really that shallow where you're from?"

"Oh, you've got no idea." I grumbled back, "If I ever get around to explaining reality television to you, I think you'll either think the idea is genius or appalling."

"Reality tele- what nonsense are you-"

The door to the barracks burst open, and a stampede of feet marched in. I craned my head back and saw the kids bursting into the barracks, with Cynthia and Owain at the lead. As soon as those two saw me, broad smiles burst over their faces.

"Ah ha!" Owain declared, causing Kjelle to smack her face and grumble behind him, "Good Samwise, the grand hero of shadows and luckiest of all Shepherds, not only has awoken, but is moving about! Truly, a wonderful sign of his strength and willpower when faced with a great trial!"

"Samwise!" Cynthia cried. She surged toward me, screeched to halt when she recalled what happened when she did that earlier in the day, and gave me a sheepish smile instead of a full on bear hug, "Glad to see you're doing okay."

I replied with a small smile of my own, but didn't say anything back, until Cynthia said something that caught me completely off guard.

"Sev was really worried about ya too, you know."

"Huh?" I managed to say in a very intelligent manner.

"I- I was not- Cynthia you-" Severa stormed past the sofa I sat on, dragged a stool from the bar counter towards the fire, sat down, then glared over at me, "Glad to see you're okay." She muttered, barely audible over the loud ruckus the kids always brought with them.

"And with all of this racket, I'm going to go to bed." Anna breathed.

"Awwww!" Cynthia pouted as Anna rose to her feet, "Why aren't you sticking around?"

"Cause you and Owain drive her nuts, ya airhead." Kjelle called from near the bar, "Hey Brady, where's your Pa's stash?"

I saw Anna freeze near the stairs, glance nervously back at Brady, before quickly retreating to the bunk rooms upstairs. I raised an eyebrow, confused, then I heard Brady grumble something about it already being gone. All they had to drink now was water, which really got Kjelle cussing up a storm. Laurent then made some comment about Kjelle's language, which got Kjelle cursing at him, followed up by Nah making an offhand comment as she read her book, and next thing I knew Kjelle was punching Inigo because Inigo decided that moment would be a good time to make a pass at her.

I watched as Kjelle decked Inigo, pounced on top of him, then proceeded to get into what was a surprisingly close wrestling match in front of the fire. The other kids cheered around me, with Brady calling out bets and Laurent recording the bets being made. I watched all of this with a mixture of confusion, awe, and amusement. Donnel's words back in the bathhouse came to mind as Sev kicked Inigo away from her stool when Kjelle tossed him like a ragdoll near her.

_They really are resilient, aren't they?_

With one final elbow to Inigo's temple, Kjelle won the brawl. She surged to her feet, one eye swelling shut, black and blue from a glancing blow Inigo gave her. She pumped her fist in the air while the kids who betted on her cheered. I noticed Brady giggling with glee as he took gold coins from Noire, Nah, Cynthia, and Owain.

"Never bet against the Beast." he snickered.

"What'd ya call me, Priest?" Kjelle snarled, making Brady paled.

"Don't beat up the ordained priest of Naga." Nah said with a tsk, "Lady Tiki would not look kindly on that."

"Ah, what a load of crap." Kjelle spat some bloody spittle into the fire behind her, then wiped her lips with the back of her hand, "Anyone else wanna go a round? My blood's boiling now!"

"I shall, for my sword hand trembles with anticipation!" Owain declared, drawing a giddy laugh from Kjelle and a long groan from Severa.

"Owain, I'm not going to scrape you off of the floor when this is done." Severa drawled as she folded her arms.

"Ha! That will only happen if the Beast manages to catch me!"

"Get over you here ya little shit!" Kjelle roared.

And like that, the second prize fight of the night began. If I had any gold to bet, I probably would have. Owain may not look like much, only a few inches taller than me and not the bulkiest of the kids by any means, but the guy could really hold his own in a good brawl. As he and Kjelle grappled with each other, each one fighting for leverage, I heard the door quietly open and close again. A switch seemingly flipped. Kjelle and Owain froze, the cheering from the other kids (sans Gerome, who was off brooding in his usual dark corner) ceased. I glanced over my shoulder and saw both Lucina and Morgan quietly entering.

Lucina entered with the confidence of a born leader. All eyes turned to her, and all nonsense ended. She gave everyone a calm, yet steely look that instantly commanded the respect of her peers. And, to my relief, she was looking much healthier than when I last saw her. She was still thin as a rail, but she carried much more strength in her stride than back at Arena Ferox.

As for Morgan, she entered as quietly as she could, trying her best not to attract attention. Unfortunately, she did attract attention. A few friendly greetings from Noire, Cynthia, and a broad grin from Owain, followed by the nastiest scowl I've ever seen come from Severa. A scowl she quickly erased when Lucina's gaze landed on her.

When Lucina and Morgan saw me, their eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Lucina said, a relieved smile on her lips. Behind her, Morgan looked pale as a sheet. The Princess didn't notice, and instead turned her attention to Kjelle and Owain, "Fighting again?"

"What about it?" Kjelle remarked, still having not let go of Owain's right shoulder.

Lucina strode towards Brady and Laurent. She peered into Laurent's book, furrowed her brow, reached into her pocket, and placed three gold coins on the book.

"Three crowns on Kjelle."

"Cousin, thou betrayest me so!?" Owain cried before receiving a devastating body blow courtesy of Kjelle's fist.

And like that, the tension that briefly entered the room dissipated. A loud guffaw surged from my throat as Kjelle yanked Owain down to the ground, quickly entangling him from behind in a full nelson. Lucina snickered as well. While the kids cheered the brawl on, I glanced over at Morgan.

She was leaving already, making her way to the bunkroom upstairs. For a moment she paused beside Severa. Severa glowered at her, and Morgan returned her glare with a pained look. The young tactician swallowed hard, ducked her head from the furious redhead, then moved up the steps. I wasn't sure what that was all about exactly, but the way Severa turned her eyes towards me gave me the impression that it was about me, for some reason.

_And if it's about me, then it's not about what Morgan and I saw. _My stomach twisted as a sudden realization hit me, _Has she not told anyone?_

Why would Morgan not say a word about who Grima really was? It made sense for me not to say anything, because I would just be dismissed as insane, traumatized, and likely talking nonsense. Besides, I had no way of proving it without giving away my true origins, something that I was still nervous about doing despite Tiki and Anna already knowing. They only knew a small extent of the truth though. They did not know that I was well aware of who Grima really was, and that tidbit of information did not sit well with me.

Cleary it did not sit well with Morgan either, judging by her quick exit. A part of me wanted to follow her and check on her, but I decided against it. She didn't want to talk to anyone, and Anna was already in the girl's bunkroom. She'd probably pick up on Morgan's anxiety and try to talk to her about it. Anna would be better at that kind of conversation than me.

_Even though Morgan and I shared that terrifying moment._

Kjelle uttered a bellow that yanked me from my thoughts with a yelp. She raised her arms high over her head in victory while Owain lay in a daze next to a still passed out Inigo. I couldn't help but laugh alongside the other kids as Kjelle beat a fist against her chest and demanded another challenger. The only way she'd look more like some crazy warrior was if there was a mug of beer for her to slam down after making such a declaration.

Just like that, the thoughts of Arena Ferox, of Morgan, of Grima and the terror I felt in his presence, faded to the back of my mind. For once I was going to enjoy a quiet, happy moment. I wasn't going to worry, or retreat into my mind. I was going to follow Donnel's advice, and hold moments with the kids close.

**And chapter! This was a really interesting chapter to write. We got more backstory for characters like Donnel, as well as Sam really beginning to integrate himself with the Shepherds. Quiet moments between him and Anna are some of my favorites to write to, so that was nice. For the record, those lyrics are from the song **_**Fade In/Fade Out **_**by Nothing More. A personal favorite of mine from a band I love. **

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**


	24. Nose to the Grindstone

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 23

Nose to the Grindstone

I was surprised by how quickly one week passed. Especially given the limited options I had for keeping myself busy. Back home, I stayed busy by listening to music, playing video games, maybe writing something or another from time to time. In this new world I lived in, those options were not available to me. Video games and listening to music were out for obvious reasons. Paper was a massive luxury during the apocalypse, and needed to be saved for messages. There were a few empty books, but I was told that those would be better used by the mages for spell books rather than as something for me to scribble in. So, I thought back to what I told Anna about my poor reading habits post high school, and decided to remedy that situation.

The city we were in, a quaint- if chilly- town just south of the Longfort named Nixtas, had a decent book selection within the main keep. There was a small library that the castle mage who used to serve the duke in this place used. So during my time healing, I gingerly walked to the library, picked a spot to sit in, and started reading.

Which is actually where I was now, nose buried in a book that caught my eye due to it possibly being the only one I was familiar with. I recalled it being mentioned in Fire Emblem Awakening as a riveting read by one of the characters, so I decided to give it a chance.

So far, I'm pretty sure I lost two days to these books. I picked up volume one after breakfast one morning, then tore through the succeeding volumes until I reached the final one, volume ten. My thumb hovered over the last few pages as my eyes tore through the words on the page. The gripping finale was here! I had forgotten just how much I loved reading. How I loved to get lost in another world in my mind. Only books could ever really give someone that feeling. TV, Video games, they come close, but only a book can ever really make you feel lost in a world. Only a book can completely transport your consciousness from one place to another, and into the mind of a totally different person.

Yeah, I think it's safe to say one week of being forced to sit on my ass really caused me to rekindle my love for reading.

_Wonder why I ever stopped? _I thought as I thumbed over to the next page, _Oh right, real life- oh god the author did not just… that bastard! _My hands crimped the pages in front of me as the door to the small library creaked open. With a huff, I smacked the book closed and frowned, tempted to fold my arms over my chest like a petulant child.

"Not the ending you wanted?"

And that is how I presented myself to the Princess of the Halidom, Lucina, as she walked into the library. I froze, unsure of what to do at first, before I quickly fixed the frown on my face and offered her a sheepish laugh. A laugh she raised an eyebrow at, which caused my laughter to trail off into a brief, awkward silence.

I quickly cleared my throat as she stayed in the same spot as before, "Uh… so…" I flicked my eyes back to the empty spot on the shelf for the book I was reading, frowning a little when I didn't see another volume, "Oh, it's a goddamn cliffhanger."

That elicited a quiet laugh from Lucina, "I thought the same thing when I finished reading it." My attention returned to the Princess just as her laughter faded away, "The author never had the chance to finish."

A heavy breath left my lips, "Well that's disappointing."

"Indeed." Lucina nodded in agreement. She made her way over to a different shelf across the room, packed to the gills with dozens of maps, "There have been many disappointments in this world of late."

I felt a bit taken aback by that comment, "Are you uh… referring to-"

Lucina blinked as she plucked a few maps from the shelves, "Oh Naga, Sam! I apologize, I didn't mean it that way at all. If anything, you've more than exceeded what everyone thought you were capable of."

I winced at that, "By barely surviving, that's um-"

Now Lucina's cheeks reddened a little bit, "N-not like- oh gods." She hung her head, a heavy breath escaping her lips, "They can teach me how to fight, but Naga help me when it comes to talking to people." I heard her mutter before she straightened upright again, the flush in her cheeks gone, "I apologize again, Samwise I did-"

I started to chuckle, causing her to look at me with one of the most dumbfounded expressions I've ever seen. I quickly waved my hand.

"Don't worry about it. I was just giving you crap."

_It's not often I'm able to give someone else a hard time like that. Usually I'm on the receiving end._

That revelation made me realize just how strange of a childhood Lucina must've had. Being a Princess would've already made her a bit isolated, especially with her being the oldest of the kids. Add in having to be more focused on survival and warfare instead of learning to socialize with people, and it's no wonder she looked so confused by my sudden chuckling. Hell, a part of me considers it pretty impressive that the other kids are able to pick up on any of this stuff easily at all. Then again, they're all closer in age with each other than Lucina is with the rest of them. So I guess that would have helped them out a little bit.

"Okay then." Lucina replied, her tone cautious. Probably in an attempt to figure out what she wanted to say next. She tucked the maps she grabbed beneath her right arm, "Since you're here, may I discuss something with you?"

I sat up in my chair, resting my arms on my knees, "Sure."

"Why did you join the Shepherds?"

The question caught me off guard. Why did I join the Shepherds? Well, the simple answer was purely selfish. As soon as I realized just how fucked my situation really was, I really wanted to live through it. The Shepherds gave me the best chance to do that. However, I wasn't sure how well that answer would go over with Lucina. I wracked my brain for a better response, but as Anna always told me, I'm a terrible liar. So, to avoid Lucina picking apart what would have likely been a horrendous white lie, I fessed up.

"Well," I took a deep breath, "I'll admit, I did it because I saw the Shepherds as my best chance at surviving this insanity."

I expected her to look offended, hurt, perhaps a bit disgusted. I did not expect her to look even more confused than before.

"You joined an elite fighting force, fighting a losing war against the Fell Dragon, and volunteered to do one of the most dangerous jobs in that fighting force, because you thought that was your best chance at surviving?"

_Well when you put it that way..._

I grimaced, "Uh… well… I never said I was good at thinking things through."

Lucina wore a blank face, then I heard a slight snort slip from her lips. She quickly covered her mouth, quietly laughing to herself. Now it was my turn to look perplexed.

"Um?"

She noticed I wasn't laughing, grew embarrassed again, and quickly stopped.

"Well um," She brushed some of her blue hair from her forehead with her free hand, "It is certainly a valid reason, if a confusing one to me."

"Well, when you put it the way you did, it confuses me too." I admitted.

Hell, joining the military during an apocalyptic war was practically the same as signing up for the lunch shift at a restaurant on Mother's Day. You know you're gonna get railed when you do it.

… Okay, they aren't the same, but forgive me for lack of warfare experience to compare this all to.

"Despite your claimed selfish reasoning for joining," Lucina continued, "your actions have been almost entirely selfless the entire time you've been here. Severa told me about how you took an ax for her when you were first found by her, Frederick, Noire, and Laurent. Then you voluntarily chose to try and rescue me and Anna at Port Ferox; knowing full well that you had neither the experience nor skill to possibly be successful,"

_Is that a backhanded compliment? No, it can't be. I'm not even sure Lucina knows how to give one of those._

"And finally," Lucina took a breath, "Morgan explained to me what happened at the Arena."

A pit formed in my stomach. The mere mention of Arena Ferox always sent a chill down my spine. They were not pleasant memories, and I fought like hell to avoid them whenever I could. Then I realized Morgan spoke to Lucina about what happened in the Khan's quarters, and my blood ran cold.

"She- she did huh?" I stammered out.

Lucina nodded. In the back of my mind, I wondered how much Lucina actually knew. If this is the same timeline as the one in the game, then Lucina should never know Robin is Grima until she goes to the past. If she knows already, then what kind of messed up future have I ended up in?

"Yes." Lucina folded her hands in front of her, "She told me about how Libra bought you time to get both of you out onto the deck as one of Grima's Deadlords entered the Khan's room."

My initial fears were stopped dead in their tracks. A Deadlord? Did… did Morgan think what we saw was a Deadlord? No, she's way too intelligent for that. No way she could mistake her own father for a Deadlord. That meant she lied to Lucina.

_Why would she do that?_

"And when Grima was about to level the Arena, you bravely tackled her off of the deck's, saving her from the blast." A small smile graced the Princess's pale lips, "For all of these things Samwise, you have my eternal gratitude."

"Uh…"

I'm still reeling a little bit. What exactly am I supposed to say in this situation? I'm already not good at handling a serious conversation, let alone a serious conversation with a girl, or even a serious conversation that is very skewed with a girl who could easily kick my ass if she wanted to. Oh great, I'm panicking again. Let's try not to make it obvious.

"And yet, words do not feel like enough." Lucina exhaled, "Before I go further, I must ask, how is your recovery coming?"

_Take the opening out of this!_

"It's uh… it's going." I replied, my voice filled with uncertainty, "I think Maribelle said I could be good to go in a couple days. Although Brady, Donnel, and Anna argued that I was ready to get back to training now."

"Splendid news!" Lucina smiled back. Still a small smile, but one that instantly warmed the room, and eased my own panic, "Because, as a token of my gratitude for the services you have provided, not only do I- as Captain of the Shepherds- officially recognize you as a member," My eyes slowly widened, even as she reached into one of her pockets and withdrew a rather official looking piece of paper, "I'm going to give you this. It is a note, signed by me, that you can give to the castle blacksmith Ivan. He's the finest smith in the land, and has forged weapons for myself and the rest of the Shepherds."

I stared wide eyed at the scrap of paper, unable to form words.

"I um," I blinked as I looked at Lucina's looping, elegant handwriting, "I- I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Samwise." Lucina replied, "Your actions have already spoken louder than any words could have."

I still find that hard to believe, but apparently the Ylissean royal family sees me as someone worthy of such praise. There is that old saying, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Accept the praise, the gift, and try to live up to it. I drew in a deep breath and nodded.

"Thank you." I finally managed to say.

"You're welcome." Lucina nodded, "Just go to Ivan, and he'll forge you whatever you want. Oh, and I guarantee it will likely be the finest weapon you'll ever have. And since you're a member of the Shepherds, officially, you are entitled to a salary. I'll have to speak with Frederick about that, maybe put Morgan on that since she does that sort of work as well…" She trailed off a moment, then realized I was still listening to her, "A-anyways," She stammered, "I wish you luck in your recovery Samwise. I'm sure we'll speak more soon."

I watched, jaw ajar, as Lucina strode out of the library. The door clicked shut behind her, and my mind was still unable to process what just happened.

_I'm an official Shepherd? _My gaze trembled back down to the paper in my hand. It was nothing more than a weapons order, signed by Lucina for me, but it still meant a lot more than that.

It was a show of acceptance. A symbol that I was absolutely a member of the team, and a friend to these people. While I always felt like I was friends with the Shepherds, there is something about their leader officially acknowledging it that caused my throat to constrict with emotion. I'm not used to having friends like this. Having people, other than my direct family, willing to sacrifice for me, and for me to do the same for them.

I swallowed hard, and uttered a shaky breath as I neatly folded the paper and let it rest on the table next to my chair, on top of Wyvern Wars: Volume X.

"Wow…" I exhaled. My jaw worked back and forth as I reined in the emotions, "A weapon huh?" I flicked my eyes over to the note, and furrowed my brow, "What kind of weapon would work for me?"

I thought hard for a moment, then my mind drifted back to one of the few TV shows I watched on the regular. It was a program on the History Channel called _Forged in Fire_, a smithing competition. Think _Chopped_ on Food Network but with swords, spears, and other deadly weapons. And somehow, less drama attached to it.

I laughed a little bit, then a spark of genius hit me. I needed a weapon that was small, and light, but could still deliver a powerful killing blow. A heavy chopper that could cut through anything whether it be armor, rotting flesh, or terrain. And now, I'm not talking about an ax. My last ax broke when I hit a Risen with it last time. Ever since, I viewed small axes with some apprehension, and preferred my daggers to them.

Still, I need a primary weapon, and I couldn't think of any better.

_I just hope Ivan knows how to make a kukri._

* * *

The castle forge was located, well, within the castle grounds. It was on the opposite end of the barracks, alongside the stout walls that surrounded the small keep of Nixtas. It looked exactly how I expected a forge to look like: massive anvil, a smelter, a trough filled with water, a grindstone, seemed pretty standard (even if I've never seen one before). And of course, Ivan absolutely looked like a blacksmith. He was a mountain of man, with bulging arms easily as round as my head, barrel chested, and easily a foot and half taller than me.

When I approached him, he gave me a steely glare that told me to scram. There was just this intimidating look he had in those black eyes of his that made me think I probably should just leave him to his work. Nevertheless, Lucina presented me with a gift, and I intended to get it. So, with a trembling hand, I handed Rudolf the note and his demeanor changed entirely… until I described to him what I wanted.

His dark eyes narrowed at me, heavy brow furrowed and nearly shadowing his gaze. I gulped beneath his penetrating stare, my hands nervously folded behind my body.

"So um…"

"What in fuck you describe?"

_Oh I was afraid of this._

"A uh… it's a- well, hm, got paper to draw on?"

He raised one heavy brow, and I uttered a sheepish laugh.

"R-right, dumb question. I mean, who keeps paper near a-" He turned around, reached into a chest near the castle wall, and withdrew a long scroll of parchment with several pieces of black charcoal. He smacked the paper down in front of me, on the table between us, "-forge."

"Draw." Ivan grunted as he leaned against the table, still glowering down at me.

Part of me wondered if he was scowling at me for asking for such a strange weapon. Another part of me wondered if he was genuinely curious about what a kukri was. Hell, I had never heard of the damn thing until I saw one on TV.

The blade's shape is easy enough to draw, but I'm no artist. As I carefully made a rough sketch on the paper using the charcoal, I briefly glanced up at Ivan. One hand rested on his bearded chin now, calloused fingers stroking the midnight whiskers.

_Okay, he's curious. Good._

I finished my very rough sketch of a Kukri, and lets just say I don't have a career as an artist in the near future. It's a crude drawing. None of the lines are straight on the slightly curved blade. All I could hope for was that Ivan could see my intention. If he's as good as Lucina claims him to be, then maybe he can pull off a weapon like this.

A deep hum, like a rumble, came from Ivan as he stooped over my drawing. One meaty hand reached out and dragged the drawing over to him, turning it over so he could get a better look at it.

"Bent wrong direction." He grumbled.

I blinked, "N-no actually-"

"You want like Killing Edge, yes?"

I shook my head again, recalling that Killing Edge as basically this world's version of a Katana, "Nope. I want it bent like that."

"Backwards?"

I nodded.

"Why?"

That's actually a good question. I only ever saw what a Kukri could do through a television screen, and I doubted I could accurately describe its intended function to the trained blacksmith. Even as I worked up the nerve to try and describe the weapon's design, I expected him to laugh in my face. Well, not necessarily laugh in my face, he doesn't seem like the type. Perhaps just sternly look at me, grunt, then ignore me and make me another dagger (like he suggested before I brought up a Kukri).

"Well, you see, my primary weapon was a small ax, before it broke after a couple swings."

"Faulty ax then." Ivan sniffed, folding his gigantic arms over his equally massive chest, "Ivan make better one."

"See, that's the point of the design." I tapped a finger along the fatter tip of the blade, and ran it down towards the bend near the guard, "It's essentially an ax in knife form. The fatter head makes it very good at chopping, but because it's a blade I can still stab with it. Also, I think it'd be lighter than an ax, which will help me on the missions I'm sent on."

"You, scrawny boy, sent on missions?" Ivan chortled a deep, rumbling chortle, "Ivan have hard time believing."

"Well, it's true. How do you think I got that letter?"

"Princess like you, maybe?"

My cheeks flushed, "That's uh… no! Nope! Way off there buddy."

"Hey, Ivan!" A loud voice barked at the big blacksmith. Ivan went stiff as a board as he looked behind me at whoever was approaching. I furrowed my brow, and moved to turn around and see who it was. Before I could even turn though, a harsh hand smacked my shoulder.

"Samwise!" Kjelle grinned after nearly knocking me face down into the table, "Getting yourself a new weapon I see?" She glanced at my drawing, "That's uh… what is that?"

"Something I thought up during my forced free time." I winced as my shoulder ached from her hand.

Kjelled twirled the drawing around so she could take a good look at it. The usually loud, and brash, Shepherd was silent as her eyes roved over my bad drawing. As she looked, one hand reached up and wiped some of her brown hair from her eyes. When her locks fell back down again, she cursed and reached for a strip of leather on the table.

"I need to get this shit cut." Kjelle grumbled as she tied her hair back. She glanced at my drawing and humming again, "Good chopper, yeah?"

My eyes widened, "Uh, yeah actually."

"Ax substitute?"

I nodded.

Kjelle nodded then spun the paper back to Ivan, "Whaddya say, ya old bastard? Can we do it?"

"We?" I replied.

"Fuck yeah, we." Kjelled leaned up against the table, facing me, "You want a weapon like that, you're gonna help make it."

I blinked, and opened my mouth to protest. Then I thought about it. I was not allowed to train, per Maribelle's orders. But I needed to do something to start getting back into shape. Just sitting around all day was driving me nuts. And yes, I am well aware of how ironic it is when I say that given sitting around and doing nothing was a personal hobby of mine back home.

Perhaps this would be one way to kick-start my body back into fighting shape?

"Alright," I nodded, "But, as I'm sure Ivan can tell, I've never done work like this before so-"

"Heh!" Kjelled smacked me hard between the shoulder blades, once again nearly knocking me head over heels, "Gotta start somewhere, Samwise! Aint' that right, Ivan?"

Ivan grunted and roved his gaze over my drawing again, "Is doable. Will have to take slow. Make sure we no mess up." He nodded to me, "You help. Grab ingots."

I smiled a little bit, "Alright!" I looked around, failing to see large bars of metal nearby, "Uh… where are-"

"This way bud." Kjelle yanked me around the table to a crate near the forge. She popped the lid, and I saw several large bars of metal within. As I looked inside, she shrugged off her coat, going down to wearing a simple black shirt.

"What are you doing?" I asked, not realizing I said it out loud.

Kjelle arched an eyebrow as she reached for a shovel and jammed it into a pile of coals near the forge, "Strength training." She grunted as she heaved coals into the forge. She dug the shovel into the pile and tossed another load into the forge, "Ivan lets me help him out, and I get a damn good workout in return. You got those ingots ready?"

I blinked, "Do I- oh!" I glanced at the bricks of steel in the box next to the forge, "One second."

I drew in a deep breath. This will be the most physical exertion I've put my body through in a week. Let's just take it easy. One metal brick at a time. They don't look too big at least, so this shouldn't be too difficult.

I wrapped my hands around the first ingot and pulled. The metal jostled and scraped against the other ingots, but all I managed to do was shift it around inside of the box. I strained some more, let out a ragged breath, then grit my teeth and squatted.

"You uh… you okay over there?" I heard Kjelle ask me from the forge.

Finally, after tugging on the ingot with all of my strength, I managed to lift it out of the box. I rose from my squatted position, teeth still grit as I cradled the ingot in both arms. Air puffed from my mouth in quick bursts as what little muscles I had strained. Then I realized it wasn't necessarily lack of muscles, but lack of physical health, because my body suddenly felt very dizzy.

I fumbled the ingot. The metal clanked hard against the stones at my feet, making Ivan bark at me from his spot near the anvil. Kjelle opened her mouth to scold me as well, but her mouth quickly snapped shut. I didn't really pay attention to either of them. Right now I was focused on trying to get my legs to stop shaking. My balance felt precarious at best, and one of my trembling arms reached out trying to find something to grab onto.

A strong hand gripped my upper right arm and steadied me on my feet.

"I thought you were good to go?" Kjelle grunted as she hauled me towards a bench near the grindstone.

I flopped down onto the bench, air heaving in and out of my lung, "I thought so too. Guess not though." I exhaled again, "Whoa, I feel a little dizzy."

"He no good?" Ivan called from near the anvil as he finished gathering the materials he needed to fashion my weapon.

Kjelle grimaced as he looked at my pale face, "Nope, he's not. He ain't gonna be able to help much." She glanced around, "But ya can't just walk away so… Ivan, do you have sharpening orders?"

"Ivan does." The burly blacksmith grunted, "Show boy how use grindstone. Ivan focus on metal."

Kjelle nodded, grabbed me by the arm again, and hauled my skinny form across the work area towards a small stool with a circular, metal stone, suspended in the air on a spinning device. The device spun with the use of a foot pedal, similar to stuff I saw in my world- like an old school sewing machine that wasn't electrically powered. It didn't take much explaining from Kjelle for me to figure out how it worked, but I did not have much confidence when she handed me the first dagger to sharpen. The iron edges were significantly dulled, so I figured it would take some serious work.

Sparks flew from the metal and stone as I put the dagger to the grindstone. My foot tapped in a steady rhythm against the pedal, keeping the stone wheel turning at a constant pace. After what only felt like a few minutes (though I learned from Kjelle, who grunted over at me as she helped Ivan hammer steel on the anvil, that a half hour had passed), I believed the dagger was sharpened. Kjelle briefly came over to glance at my work. She didn't say anything, just took the dagger, shrugged, and placed it in a pile with a bunch of other daggers. She then handed me a sword from a crate near the forge.

"Get through as many as you can."

I had my orders, now I had to follow them. The second blade took longer than the first, mostly due to its size rather than the condition of the blade itself. The third blade was a dagger, and I was pleased by Kjelle's friendly smile as she received that blade. One of her rough hands smacked me hard between the shoulder blades.

"Thatta boy, Samwise!"

I grinned, and reached for the next dagger. Just as I brought it to the grindstone; a shrill, angry voice sounded across the yard from me, making me jump in my seat and juggle the dagger. The blade pricked my hand. I hissed, then dropped it near my feet.

"Samwise Wheeler!" Maribelle roared as she stormed towards the forge.

"Maribelle…" Exalt Lissa sighed as she trailed after her friend.

I paled as Maribelle marched right up to me, pink parasol nestled beneath her arm. Her face was red with anger as she glared at me, nostrils flaring. Behind me, I heard Kjelle curse, followed by a clattering of metal as she probably looked for somewhere to hide.

"Uh… hi Miss Mari-"

"It's Lady Maribelle, Samwise." Maribelle sniffed, tilting her nose up at me, "Might I inquire what you are doing? From what I see, you are doing physical labor. I specifically recall ordering you, as your healer, to refrain from such strenuous activities until you have fully recovered."

I cringed, "Well, this isn't too strenuous and-"

"I knew it!" Maribelle cried, furious, "You are deliberately disobeying my orders." Exalt Lissa drew up alongside Maribelle, a weary sigh slipping from her lips as Maribelle started her tirade, "Why, if you were not still in the recovery process, I would whack you with my parasol for such blatant disrespect."

"Maribelle." Exalt Lissa put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'll take care of this."

Maribelle blinked, "L-Lissa, darling, it is quite alright. I'm sure I can manage to break through his thick skull, just as I do with the other Shepherds and-"

"And you need rest." Lissa cut her off, "You've been going non-stop since we retreated from Arena Ferox. I'll handle Samwise. You go be with Brady and Donnel. I'll call on you if I need you."

Maribelle inhaled deeply, "Very well." She glared at me, "I better not find out you sharpened another sword."

She spun on her heels and stormed away, the heels to her shoes clicking against the rocky ground as she marched. Both Exalt Lissa and I watched her march towards Nixtas's keep. When she entered the keep, Lissa visibly relaxed.

"Sometimes she can leave me feeling as high strung as her." She mumbled with a small shake of her head. The Exalt returned her attention to me, "Get up, Sam. You know you shouldn't be doing anything right now."

I gave the Exalt a sheepish look, "Yeah well… kinda felt like I had to."

Lissa smirked a little at that, "Well, you can explain your reasoning to me as we walk." She held out a hand to me, somehow guessing that it would be a little difficult for my weak body to get up from the stool in front of the grindstone.

The Exalt surprised me by just how strong she really was, or maybe I was really that small and scrawny. It only took her one hand to yank me to my feet. I stumbled a little as my right leg (the one pedaling the grindstone) wobbled. Lissa simply snickered at me as I quickly recovered my footing.

"You can see why Maribelle is upset?"

"A little bit, yeah."

Lissa chuckled some more, "Kjelle, Ivan, don't work too hard."

"Har!" Kjelle bellowed as she hefted a large hammer, "I'll work as hard as I want to."

"Will keep in mind, Lady Exalt." Ivan said with a slight bow before returning to his work.

Lissa smiled, turned, and took me by my right arm. She did not say anything to me as we quietly made our way across the yard towards Nixtas's Keep. My eyes quickly glanced up at the fortifications again.

Call it a habit Anna was trying to instill into me. I may not be able to physically train, but part of being a good scout (and thief for that matter) was having knowledge of your surroundings. So, Anna would take me to random parts of the Castle, give me a few seconds to look at my surroundings, then blindfold me and proceed to play Twenty Questions: Medieval Landscapes Edition, with me.

Even though we had only been doing this for the past week, I could already feel myself quickly taking in my environment. I knew there were four guards posted on the top battlement of the keep, armed with longbows. The two guards at the Keep doors were both lefties, since their swords were on their right hips. One of them was favoring his right leg, possible injury? I could maybe outrun him if I wasn't wounded myself.

_Or he'd skewer me with that spear from a distance. _I swallowed hard at that thought as the Keep doors opened, letting both me and Lissa inside.

The inside of Nixtas Castle was about as fancy as the barracks. Simple rugs lay on top of stone floors. Torches burned in sconces along the walls. There was a painting here and there, but nothing overly ornate. Certainly nothing as elegant as the Exalt's Palace in Ylisstol, or as intimidating as Arena Ferox. Clearly this castle was built more for function than for comfort. Which made sense. Nixtas looked like a fairy old city. Perhaps this place existed back when Regna Ferox was nothing more than a bunch of barbarian tribes that enjoyed raiding along the Ylissean border, so the castle needed to be strong and fortified. This was the only major defense for miles around after all.

_Now that I think about it that way, it makes sense we retreated here. _I furrowed my brow as I noticed a distinct absence of Feroxi soldiers in the castle, _But where are the Feroxi?_

"Looking for something, Samwise?" Lissa asked as she hung on to my arm.

"Oh well, er, where are the Feroxi?"

"Khan Raimi took her forces to the Longfort. A vanguard against whatever Grima might throw at us. He caught us by surprise at Arena Ferox, but he won't do so again. Not when his target is so obvious."

I raised an eyebrow at that. Wasn't Arena Ferox a fairly obvious target also? Then again, I'm no strategist, and certainly not someone who could grasp the big picture of this conflict. I knew Awakening's past timeline events, not the timeline events I was living now. I was just as much in the dark regarding what would happen as everyone else. So I replied with a quiet shrug, and kept my mouth shut. It was not my place to question the Exalt, as Anna loved to remind me.

_She's absolutely the definition of: Do as I say, not as I do. _I thought with a snort as my mind lingered on Anna for a moment.

Lissa and I continued walking until we returned to the castle library, no doubt the place Lissa felt like I would find the most entertainment and comfort. Once in the library, Lissa let go of my arm and quietly marched towards a shelf full of dusty old tomes. A bunch of magical nonsense that I couldn't understand. I did try reading one of those books earlier in the week, but it read like a textbook and I immediately placed it back on the shelf. That's when I picked up the Wyvern Wars Saga, and at that point, my days passed pretty quickly.

As she gathered the books into her arms, I slumped into my usual chair, and glanced out the window, which had a decent view of the castle yard. I saw Severa, Gerome, Cynthia, Owain, and Frederick all returning from some sort of patrol. Was it really getting that late in the day already? I suppose it was. It was summer when I arrived in this world (opposite of my actual home, how ironic), and three months have passed. The days were growing shorter, and soon winter's cold clutches would grasp Ylisse.

_If we make it that long. _That grim thought made me blink and sink back in my seat, _Where the hell did that come from?_

"So, Samwise." Lissa began, drawing my attention back to her. She set a trio of heavy tomes down on a table near the shelf she was at, then spun back around to look at me, "I have actually been meaning to talk with you for a while now, but circumstances kept me from getting to you."

I nodded, "Yeah, I don't blame you. There's gotta be a lot on your plate."

Lissa's lips sputtered, "Oh, you have no idea." She marched over to the chair across from mine and slumped into it, her body sliding down the back of it till only her head rested against the back, "Somehow this past week has been the most chaotic of the entire war. And that is including Themis." She ran a hand over her eyes, "Haven't slept more than four hours a day for I don't know how long now."

I cringed, "Well… hopefully you can get some rest tonight?"

"I doubt it, but the sentiment is appreciated." She exhaled then sat upright, her posture now straight and proper, "Anyways, this is not supposed to be about me. I try to make a point on checking in on both Shepherds, and patients. Lucina told me you're both now, so I decided to speak with you for a little bit before I'm dragged off to my duties again."

I blinked, "She told you?"

Lissa shrugged, "Of course she did. Lucina is the captain of the Shepherds, and the Shepherds serve the Exalt. She ran it by me first, and I gave her my one hundred percent approval."

My jaw fell open. Not only did Lucina think I was worthy of being a Shepherd, Lissa thought so too? What the hell did I do to warrant such praise? Last I check, all I managed to do was nearly get myself killed several times. My survival in those situations seemed to be based on pure luck rather than on any sort of skills or strengths I had.

"Um… can I ask you a question, your majesty?"

Lissa snorted, "Samwise, when it's just you and me, you may call me Lissa. I've never been one for formal titles."

"R-right. So, Lissa," I took a breath, "Why?"

Lissa blinked, "Well, my brother and sister preferred to be casual around their friends, so I guess it rubbed off on me too. Plus I never thought myself as a terribly important princess so-"

"N-no, no." I quickly interrupted. Then I sucked in a sharp breath, realizing I just interrupted royalty. My lips puckered, and Lissa laughed at me.

"Don't worry." She reassured me with a wave of her hand, "I'm used to it. Happens all the time during war councils. Interruptions always make Frederick scowl, but if someone has a good idea I believe they should just blurt it out there without any fear." She furrowed her brow, "And you interrupted- oh!" She gave me a light chuckle, "Right, you weren't asking me why I wanted you to drop the titles, were you?"

I let out a relief filled sigh, "No, ma'am."

"Ma'am?"

"Lissa." I quickly corrected, a sheepish look crossing over my face. She looked thoroughly amused by me as I shifted nervously in my seat. Then again, this was Lissa, who was the queen of pranks in the actual game. She probably enjoyed entertaining herself at other people's expense, in a good way though, "Why am I a Shepherd? I mean, why would- I just-" I sagged in my seat, "What have I done to deserve it?"

Lissa was no longer amused. Her brow was furrowed as she looked at me, suddenly very serious.

"Do you believe your actions are somehow not worthy of recognition, Samwise?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line, then shrugged, "What have I done other than get lucky and survive?"

Lissa shook her head, "You have done much more than that." She leaned forward in her seat, "Samwise, do you recall the item to had when you escaped from Arena Ferox?"

I frowned and thought about it.

_Item I had from Arena Fer-_

Fire. Lots of blood. Screams, shrieks, roars, the overwhelming sound, like thunder, as the world shook from Grima's attack. Pain, death, panic fear, the feeling of snapping another man's neck; all of it slammed back into me, and I could feel my hands shaking in my lap.

A quick shake of my head shoved those thoughts to the side, and finally the answer to Lissa's question emerged in my mind.

"That red orb?"

"Yes." Lissa nodded, "That orb was the gemstone: Gules."

_I'm sorry, what!?_

It took every ounce of self control I had not to react to this information with anymore than a mildly confused expression. Of course I knew exactly what Gules was. It was one of the gems that, when combined with the Fire Emblem, allow a person from the Exalted Bloodline to perform a ritual known as The Awakening. In the game, the heroes used that ritual to help them defeat Grima. I knew all of this, but I could not let Lissa know that I knew. My amnesia cover, against all odds, was still intact with everyone except two others (Anna and Tiki), and until I figured out a way to actually bring up how I was not an amnesiac but actually some sort of interdimensional traveler, I intended to keep it that way.

"The what?" I replied, my voice very quiet in the library.

Lissa smacked her forehead, "Right, like you would know. Just… well, Gules is extremely important to our efforts against Grima. What you did was a miracle, Samwise. Without Gules, our cause was surely lost." She gave me a small smile, "You brought hope out of Arena Ferox. I don't care if that was luck, coincidence, or if you actually did manage to do it on purpose; but I sure as hell am going to reward you for it. You've worked with Anna and the other Shepherds since you arrived here, so it was only fitting to formally induct you." She leaned towards me, her voice falling to a whisper, "Just a forewarning, the kids are going to know by the time evening comes, and you will be caught up in some sort of celebration tonight."

"Celebration?"

"Of course!" Lissa chirped, "The kids have really taken a liking to you, in their own ways though."

"So Donnel has told me." I muttered.

That was still hard for me to believe. Have I really become friends with these people in such a short amount of time? Then again, I was spending every waking moment with them, fighting a war, living everyday with the risk of death ridiculously high. I suppose that was bound to make friendships form faster, for some reason.

And that only made me feel guiltier about lying to all of them.

"So," Lissa continued, hardly missing a beat, "I'd be ready for a bit of a wild party. It's been a while since we've had a new member added to the ranks. Usually..." Her smile faltered a little, "usually we're mourning instead."

I grimaced at that. Now that she put it that way, I could see why the kids would want to celebrate. There probably weren't many occasions for a party in the world they lived in.

"Well, I'll do my best to have fun then." I said, a small smile on my lips.

"Good!" Lissa chirped. She got to her feet, gathered her books, and moved to the library door. Just as she reached the door, she spun back around, "Oh Sam, for the love of Naga, don't ignore Maribelle again." I paled a little, "I can only intervene so many times when it comes to her. Eventually that parasol will give you a concussion."

I gulped, "Noted."

"Good! Enjoy reading here. I'm sure Ivan will give you whatever weapon he was working once he's done."

The door to the library shut behind her, and I was alone in the library again. I sat still in my chair a moment, wondering how on earth Lissa managed to get me to stop working at the grindstone without me noticing.

_Oh she's good. No wonder everyone listens to her. She can be damn manipulative._

I drew in a deep breath and glanced out the window again. If I were to guess, I had about an hour to kill before dinner would be ready in the barracks. So I needed to occupy my time with something. The gemstones bounced around in my mind, and that drew me towards the nonfiction section of the library. My eyes roved over the titles of the large volumes, looking for anything on the gemstones. When I didn't find anything, I shrugged and decided to go for a different book. For some reason, I plucked what looked like a beginner's history book detailing the Ylissean crusade against Plegia decades ago. Quietly, I sat down and flipped to the first page.

As I started reading, my mind drifted back towards dinner. I glanced over my shoulder at the barracks, and my stomach rumbled.

_I really hope Kjelle isn't cooking._

* * *

A long, drawn out, high note sang from a string on a violin. Lingering like a squealing scream in the air. Brady's eyes were closed as his bow dragged over the string, drawing the attention of everyone in the Nixtas Barracks. As the note slowly fell in volume, his eyes snapped open, and his bow shot across the rest of the strings. A quick fiddling jig sounded from his instrument as one booted foot stomped against the stone floor, and a broad smile passed over my lips.

Hoots and hollers from the kids sounded as Brady played. Next to him, Kjelle broke the seal on the second barrel of ale she managed to snatch for the celebration. She quickly caught some of the foaming liquid in her mug as her other hand fumbled with the spigot. Nah rolled her eyes next to Kjelle and took the spigot from her grasp as Kjelle brought her foaming mug to her lips, completely forgetting that there was ale spilling out onto the floor.

"Now it's a party!" She boomed, slamming her now empty mug down as Brady continued playing.

The good thing about Kjelle already being piss drunk, was that she wasn't doing the cooking. That role actually went to Noire, who on top of being a wonderful seamstress (as I found out when she presented me with a brand new jerkin she stitched herself), was also an excellent cook. There was not much to cook with in Nixtas, what with rations being carefully controlled due to the war and the coming winter, but the stew she managed to whip up in the barrack's fireplace tasted amazing.

As I brought a spoonful of beefy broth to my lips, I heard the other kids clapping around me as Brady's playing and stomping grew louder. It sounded like something you would absolutely hear in a medieval tavern. A loud, simple song meant for people to sing along with. A simple jig that could get anyone off of their feet, no matter how drunk they were, and dancing. A few of the Shepherds were already doing that. Most notably Owain and Cynthia, who were flailing around in front of the fire like a pair of fish out of water, much to the amusement of the other Shepherds watching them.

As for me, I've never been much of a dancer. Not much of a party person either (I know. What a shocker!). I have never felt comfortable in large, loud crowds; with the exception of concerts because I just enjoyed the music more than anything else. Usually large crowds involved socializing, something most of the Shepherds already knew I was atrocious at. Nevertheless, like a bunch of extroverts adopting an introvert, as I sat there eating my stew, they kept me engaged in the party.

Before I could scoop another spoonful of stew into my mouth, Cynthia bounced towards me and grabbed me by my right arm.

"W-wait, my food-"

I didn't get a chance to finish as Cynthia yanked me to my feet, off of the sofa I was sitting on, and out onto the makeshift dance floor she and Owain had made. As I stumbled to my feet, my bowl of stew clattered to the floor, eliciting a disappointed sound from Noire as she continued stirring one more pot of it for everyone.

_My food!_

I didn't have much time to mourn my meal as Cynthia spun me around and into Owain's waiting grasp. Raucous laughter sounded out around me as he gripped my hands, stepped back and forth, then spun me around several times before passing me back over to Cynthia. As I stumbled back to Cynthia, I saw the door to the barracks open. The older Shepherds stepped inside; led by Lucina, Lissa, Frederick, and Tiki.

I half expected those four to scold all of the kids for the excessive noise and drinking, especially at this time of night, but instead an enormous grin lit up on Lissa's face. She jumped out onto the dance floor, spinning into Owain's arms as the young swordsman beamed.

"My fair mother, the Exalt, has thus declared the party to begin!"

"It's already been going on, dumbass!" I heard Severa call out, her voice void of it's usual grumpiness as she lounged in her usual chair with a bowl of stew in her lap.

Tiki laughed lightly at the actions of the kids as she took a seat next to Kjelle, who quickly offered her a mug of ale, which Tiki politely declined. Frederick had his usual frown on his lips as he observed the proceedings, but did nothing to stop them. Probably because if he did, he'd have to keep Lissa from enjoying herself.

Cynthia twirled around me again, spun towards Severa, then grabbed Severa by her wrists.

"Cynthia, don't you dare!"

Of course, the Pegasus Knight didn't care at all about Severa's protests. She yanked Severa to her feet, causing a second bowl of soup to clatter to the floor. Noire's eye twitched as she watched the broth spread out along the stone floor, but Cynthia paid her no mind as she hopped along with Severa. I stayed rooted in place for a moment, then blushed profusely when Cynthia shoved Severa at me.

"Dance you two!"

Severa plowed into me and, with grace befitting a three legged donkey, I stumbled backwards. The momentum of Severa colliding into me carried both of us towards the sofa, which then tripped me up and sent me ass-over-head over the back of it, along with Severa. Fortunately, I didn't hit the floor hard as there was rug behind the sofa, but I still felt all of the air leave my lungs as Severa's elbow dug into my gut.

My eyes bugged from my skull as Severa remained completely motionless on top of me. I could hear more laughter, and the door to the barracks opening again. My head swam a little as I tried to catch my breath. Involuntary chuckles wheezed from my mouth at the ridiculousness of this entire situation.

"St-stop laughing!" A small fist pounded my chest, which only made me laugh more, "Cynthia!"

Severa roared to her feet and out of my sight. I remained lying down on my back, small laughs bubbling from me as I tried to catch my breath. A pair of boots stepped up behind my head, and I flicked my eyes back to see Anna stooped over me.

"Graceful as ever?"

A lopsided grin crossed my lips, "You know it."

Turns out, the door opening again was the rest of the Shepherds arriving for this little party. Donnel, Maribelle, Miriel, Henry, and Lon'qu all milled on the fringes of the room. Anna arrived with them right as I fell back with Severa, which is likely what caused her to approach me. She matched my lopsided grin with a wry smirk, then extended a hand.

"You'll catch more air up here, Lucky."

I exhaled, "Yeah," I gripped her outstretched hand, "You're probably right."

"I know I'm right." Anna snorted as she hauled me to my feet.

I quickly glanced around the small, barracks common room once I was standing upright. Everyone was here, well, everyone in the Shepherds that is. Exalt Lissa danced with her son and with Lon'qu (who looked incredibly uncomfortable the entire time, but somehow managed to keep excellent time with Brady's fiddling).

Cynthia bounced around all over the place, as hyper as ever. Severa was still trying to get her revenge on the Pegasus Knight, but to no avail as Cynthia yanked Inigo to his feet and twirled him around, accidentally tossing him right into Severa.

Kjelle laughed loudly from the bar, while Nah simply poured the drinks with her usual long-suffering demeanor. The small Manakete flicked through her spellbook in between drink serving. Clearly she was a fellow introvert more interested in keeping to herself and observing the festivities, rather than engaging in them herself. I could understand that.

Yarne and Gerome kept to themselves near the window; with Gerome being his usual brooding self, and Yarne fidgeting nervously with every loud laugh and cry from the others. Donnel joined them, passing the pair mugs of ale as he sat down, then enjoying a mug himself.

Miriel and Laurent were scribbling notes, as usual. The two mages were more interested in recording the events surrounding them rather than enjoying it themselves. Although I occasionally noticed Luarent sip from a mug of ale, set it down, then scribble some more notes in his book.

Maribelle sat near Brady, her eyes closed as she enjoyed her son's playing. Her fingers danced along the bar counter top, keeping in time with her son's playing as she smiled to herself. One of the few smiles I had ever seen from the usually grumpy Duchess of Themis.

Henry went over to his daughter, Noire, near the fire and decided to help her cook. A surprisingly sweet and mundane thing that I would never have expected to see from a guy that was about to turn me into his latest autopsy when I first met him. He must've noticed me staring, because he looked back at me, gave me a smile that made my skin crawl, then returned his attention to ladling stew into a wooden bowl.

Anna jabbed my arm with her elbow, dragging me back to her.

"You eat yet?" She asked as she walked with me towards Noire and Henry, who had two bowls waiting for us.

"I tried to." I replied, a slight laugh on my voice, "But Cynthia decided now was not the time to eat."

"So she threw Severa at you?"

I chuckled, "Basically."

I took a bowl from Anna, then moved towards the sofa once again. As I sat down, I glanced around and noticed the distinct absence of one person from the festivities. Morgan was nowhere to be seen. Anna seemed to notice her absence as well, because she nudged me again.

"Don't worry about it." She swirled her spoon in her stew, "Morgan is just having a rough time right now. I think the battle at Arena Ferox affected her a lot more than she cares to admit."

"You've talked to her?" I asked, my voice nearly drowned out by the Shepherd's laughter and Brady's fiddle.

Anna shook her head, "She's been pretty quiet lately, which is odd for her. Morgan was always a loud child, until recently. Not sure what changed. Then again, her and Severa are going at it again, and Morgan retreats when that happens."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why would that affect Morgan so much?"

"Do you have a sibling, Sam?"

I blinked, "Well yeah, but we-" My words got lost in my throat, and my eyes widened, "Wait… Morgan and Severa are sisters!?"

Anna gave me a puzzled look, "You're just picking that up now?"

"I-I mean, yeah?"

"Eh, I shouldn't be surprised at this point. You're not the most observant person. Why do you think I'm having you do those little memory exercises while you can't physically train?"

I snorted at that, "I figured as much, but still… I never suspected."

"Why not?"

Why not? Well, because Morgan looked nothing like Severa. She did not share her red hair, seemed smaller than Severa, and was far less confrontational than her sibling. That, and no one ever mentioned this important fact to me.

My mind wandered back to Arena Ferox, before Grima struck, when the Fell Dragon himself spoke to Flavia, and a knot formed in my gut.

_That means he is Severa's father too…_

"Sam?" Anna snapped her fingers, dragging me from my thoughts, "Are you okay. You zoned out again there."

"Y-yeah just- um- surprised. Running through everything in my brain."

Anna rolled her eyes, ate a bite of stew, then glanced at me, "You'll have to come up with a more convincing lie than that. But, since we're at a party, I'm not going to press you on it. This should be a fun night anyways, not a stressful one."

"Agreed."

Brady's violin sang out one more note, then the jig ended. A round of applause from the Shepherds elicited a brief bow from Brady. I chuckled when I saw him reach for a mug of ale, then hesitate as Maribelle glared furiously at him. He retracted his hand, and Kjelle laughed at his expense as well, her cheeks red due to the ale.

Cynthia twirled around in front of the fire, then stopped, her body freezing into a dramatic pose with a big grin on her lips. Noire stood up behind her, the archer precariously balancing four bowls of stew in her arms.

"Thus the dance is finished!" Cynthia cried, throwing her arms out to the side.

Her right hand smacked against Noire. Noire's eyes bugged from her skull as she stumbled. All four bowls teetered precariously on her arms as she struggled to keep them balanced. She froze in place, hunched over, as the teetering ended. Just as a relieved sigh escaped her lips, Owain uttered a loud, attention drawing cry, startling her and causing all of the bowls to crash down onto the floor.

"DAMNABLE INGRATES!" Noire roared, the necklace she wore glowing a violet color. She spun to throw a punch at Cynthia, only for Henry to quickly scoop her up and carry her over to where Gerome and Yarne sat, "UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT!"

"Sorry everyone." Henry snickered, "My daughter has the same killer instincts as me. It makes me so proud."

Anna scoffed out a laugh, "We can tell."

"S-sorry Noire…" Cynthia said with a sheepish wave of her hand.

"I'LL MAKE YOU SORRY!"

Owain cringed next to Cynthia, and I chuckled along with the other Shepherds. As I laughed, Lucina rose to her feet and cleared her throat. She hopped up onto a wooden stool so she could address everyone easily. All eyes turned to her, and all chatter ceased.

Unlike in the library, Lucina did not fidget with awkward nervousness. Once more, she looked like a born leader. She stood tall and proud, with a small smile on her pale lips, as she looked out at the rest of us.

"Shepherds." She began, her voice surprisingly loud despite her still frail appearance, "Today, we induct a new member into our ranks. Samwise, please stand up."

I glanced around me, very uncomfortable with being called out like that. Everyone was looking at me, and I froze. Anna rolled her eyes next to me. One of her strong hands grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. She threw me to my feet, nearly causing me to trip over my own two feet. A nervous laugh slipped from my lips.

"H-hi everyone."

"Samwise has shown all the qualities of a Shepherd." Lucina continued as broad smiles broke out on the others in the room, "He has displayed valiant courage in the face of the enemy, and in the face of insurmountable odds. He has shown great selflessness when tasked with near impossible missions. He has placed others before his own needs, and has shown to be willing to sacrifice himself to save those he cares about. Truly, the marks of a Shepherd. So today, I have named him one of us." She nodded towards the door, and for the first time, I noticed Ivan the Smith standing in the barracks. Lucina hopped down from her stool, "Samwise, come here."

I gulped, buried my own anxiety, and stepped forward. As always, when royalty told you to do something, you damn well better do it. My hands folded nervously behind me as I stood before Lucina. The Princess of Ylisse turned to Ivan. The Smith produced a short blade from behind him, covered in a curved scabbard in the shape of the weapon I drew for him. My eyes widened in surprise.

_He got it done!_

Giddy laughter sounded from Kjelle. When I glanced over at her, she raised her mug to me.

_They both got it done!?_

Lucina gingerly grabbed the sheathed weapon from Ivan, took it in both hands, then drew the kukri from the scabbard. The steel on the curved weapon glinted in the firelight as she held it aloft in front of me. I could see my reflection in the flawless blade as I looked at it with wide eyes.

"This is your weapon now, Samwise." Lucina continued. She expertly twirled the blade around, fingertips pinching the fat of the blade as she held the handle out to me, "I have never seen one like it before, but that only serves to make it more unique to you. May it serve you well as a member of our company."

I stared at the grip, stunned. It wasn't anything special, just a wood and leather handle, stained to be as dark as the cloak I wore in the field. A small, round pommel sat on the end of the handle, giving it balance. An extra thing Ivan and Kjelle must have added when they forged it.

"Take it already!" Kjelle barked from her seat, making me jump.

I sucked in a sharp breath, then reached out. My fingers wrapped around the oiled leather. It felt so smooth against my fingertips. As if it was absolutely meant for me to use. Lucina's hands fell from the weapon as I held it.

"Mine huh?" I said.

Lucina nodded, "Yes."

A smile trembled over my lips. This was really happening. The Shepherds, all of them, considered me to be one of them. My grip on the kukri tightened and spun it in my hand, just the way Gaius and Anna taught me to.

"Thank you."

Lucina smiled back, "No Samwise, thank you."

"Now drink up!" Kjelle bellowed, thrusting a mug at me, "We've got a night to waste away!"

A loud cheer rang out in the barracks. My smile broadened as I took the mug in my other hand and gulped down some ale. When I came up for air, the others cheered again, and the party resumed. Lucina laughed, clapped a hand against my left shoulder, then moved past me towards Tiki and Lissa, who were now sitting near the fire. As she walked away, Anna strode up beside me, a small smile on her lips.

"Congratulations, Samuel." She said, making sure to use my actual name and not the one the others used.

I snorted at that, "Thanks." I looked at my weapon one more time, then set it down on the counter. Ivan handed me the scabbard, and I gratefully took it. As I sheathed my weapon, Anna took a seat.

"You know what this all means right?"

"What?" I asked.

Anna's smile faded a little, "You're officially a soldier. They don't think you're in training anymore."

My smile slowly dropped, and a pit formed in my stomach. Me, officially a solder? My father had to be laughing his ass off somewhere out in the universe. The thought of being done with training hit me next, then realization dawned on me.

"You've got a boat?" I asked

Anna shrugged, "Lissa thinks she found something, but she's waiting to hear back from whatever captain it is. So long as I'm here, I'll make sure you're ready to go. But our time together is coming to a close soon."

I swallowed hard at that, then slumped into a stool next to Anna. Nearby, Brady started playing another song, and I heard Owain begin to sing the lyrics to an upbeat song from a world I still barely knew.

"Do you think I'm ready?"

Anna snorted, "You want the honest answer to that?"

My heart sank a little. That was a no. I sighed and reached for my mug again

"I think you're as ready as you're gonna be." Anna finished, making me freeze as I brought the mug to my lips.

I glanced at her shocked, and she shrugged back.

"There's only so much I can teach you, Sam. At some point you're gonna have to be done learning. I'm not gonna be around much longer to help you, so I'm just going to have to trust that I taught you enough to survive." A sad smile passed over her features, "You've gotten a lot farther than I initially thought you would when we first met."

"Hmmm…" I nodded in agreement, "I think I have."

"Is that cockiness I just heard from you? Or is that the ale talking?" Anna remarked, amused.

"I just recall you saying something to Gaius along the lines of: 'This guy? Really?'"

Anna snorted a laugh, "Was I wrong?"

I chuckled with her, "Eh, probably not. Good thing you were there to make sure you wound up wrong."

Anna nodded at that, "Yeah." She grabbed a mug of ale, "Good thing." She held the mug in the air, directed at me, "To being wrong."

I looked at Anna, then her mug. I smiled and clinked my mug against hers.

"To being wrong."

**And chapter! SURPRISE UPDATE! I currently have a pretty solid backlog of work for this story, so I'll post this chapter now, and another next week. Yipee!  
Anyways, a much calmer chapter for Sam this time. He's officially been declared a Shepherd, and now has a weapon just for him. We've got one more chapter to go before we get back into the meat of the story. I've got my plans all lined up for the next major section of this story, so get ready, it's going to be a good! **

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also! There is an official Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast! The hosts are myself, Narwhal Lord (of _All the World's a Sale_ fame), Stormtide Leviathan (of _Stolen Remedy_ fame), and RedXEagl3 (of _Aberration_ fame). You can find the link for it in our discord server, and can also find it on Spotify! (it's just the Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast, no fancy name involved lol). We only have one episode right now (episode one is On Writing OC's and Si's), but we plan on putting out a new episode every Saturday! We felt like doing this podcast in order to help other writers with their writing whether it is fanfiction or regular fiction. Just a way for us to help give back, and we hope to have you all listening in!**


	25. A Bad Day of Bear Steaks and Potato Soup

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 24

A Bad Day of Bear Steaks and Potato Soup

Boredom is a funny thing. It can make anyone no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they do for a living, engage in activities that they would otherwise never do and find not remotely entertaining. Seeing as how both Donnel and Anna were currently occupied, with Donnel off… somewhere (it's not like I'm in charge of keeping track of him. That's apparently Maribelle's job), and Anna joining in on a morning military briefing, I was without anything to do. So, I found myself wandering back to Nixtas's library. Having already read through the meager selection of fictional novels it contained the past week, I found my eyes wandering to the nonfiction section. Specifically a subject that I greatly enjoyed in school: History.

Now, I was nose deep into a book with the ever so dull title of: _A Documented History of the Halidom Houses as gathered by Grand Sage Byron. _

… Yeah, I was that bored.

Yet, while this book has the entertainment quality of a smooth rock, or paint drying on a wall, there were bits and pieces of it that actually kept me engaged. Most specifically was the descriptions of the various Noble Houses of Ylisse. I was aware that such things existed, since it was semi-mentioned in the game, but the game never elaborated beyond an off-hand mention of the subject. Learning more about the world I now lived in has not been something at the forefront of my mind, but I supposed it was time that changed. Especially if I wanted to eventually find a way home. As of yet, I had not stumbled upon any way of returning home, and I doubted I would. No one was going to have time to help me with that goal anyways, what with everyone I know engaged in a war with a Death God, and all of those people thinking I am an unfortunate amnesiac resident of this world.

I blinked as I looked up from the dense book in my lap.

_How are they all still falling for that?_

I pondered that question for a moment, but I could not discover an answer. So I shrugged, and went back to reading. Currently I was on a page outlining the four major houses of Ylisse during the Reign of Exalt Arcturus. The Exalt who happened to be… Lissa's… father…

My eyes bugged out of my skull as the nerd within me screamed about discovering some new lore. I turned to the next page, briefly seeing the names of the Four Great Noble Houses: Themis, Ylisse, Folis, and Litore. Then my gaze landed on a brief description of the late Exalt, the one responsible for the first Ylisse-Plegian War. From what little I knew about him from the game; he basically began a bloody, genocidal crusade against the people of Plegia, which birthed the utter hatred the Plegian people and their new King, Gangrel, had for Ylisse once Exalt Emmeryn ascended to the throne.

Nothing about that was described in the book. It simply listed Exalt Arcturus as a strong leader and brilliant military commander with dozens of marvelous combat victories to his name, most of which were against Plegian savages in the desert wastes of Plegia.

I cocked one eyebrow at the mention of 'Plegian Savages'. Seems to me like this book has a pretty heavy bias. That would explain the complete lack of the word 'genocide' beneath the list of deeds attributed to Exalt Arcturus. I shrugged. This was not out of the ordinary, I suppose. How many ancient civilizations practiced this kind of propaganda for their former leaders? Pretty sure every single one of them did: from the ancient Egyptians, to the Romans, to the Persians, Greeks, Chinese, British; no one ever wants their great leaders to look bad, as it is usually taken as a direct reflection of their nation.

_Still, interesting to take note of._

I turned the page, and the door to the library opened.

"O-oh!" Morgan quietly stepped into the library, her hand remaining on the door as she debated whether or not to stay. When she noticed that I saw her, she grimaced, her eyes flicking nervously back and forth, "I thought no one else would be in here."

"Not much else to do beyond training, other than..." I raised the book in my lap, and Morgan's eyes widened.

"That dry thing?" Some of her nervousness faded as the subject shifted from my presence in the library, to a book, "You must really be bored."

"Anna's busy, and so is Donnel." I replied, closing the book with a heavy thud, "Figured I'd fill my time reading a little bit before the pain starts today."

Morgan chuckled quietly at that as she shuffled further into the library, the door quietly shutting behind her. Again, she flicked her eyes back and forth before moving towards the non-fiction section. I watched as she scanned over various, thick tomes; one of her pale fingers running along the spines of the books until it arrived on a dusty old volume titled: _The Great Schism._

That book made me raise my brow. I never claimed to be an expert on Fire Emblem lore, seeing as how I was mostly a casual player of the games and never too serious about digging into the details of the game beyond some character things, but I knew that one of the biggest events in this world occurred nearly one thousand years before the time I was in now. It was known as the Schism, the time when Grima first rampaged over the world. Beyond that, I didn't know much.

I drew back in understanding as Morgan plucked the book from the shelf. She wanted to learn more about Grima. Which meant she knew that the monster that killed Libra, and spoke to Flavia in Arena Ferox, was not a Deadlord.

"Why'd you lie?" I blurted out without thinking.

Morgan jumped nearly a foot in the air, and the book crashed down to the floor with a heavy wham, landing right on her foot. She howled, hopping up and down on one foot for a couple seconds as she cursed under her breath. When she stopped hopping, she glared back at me. A glare that made me pale. Normally, Morgan did not seem all that threatening. She was a shorter, smaller girl, who looked even smaller due to the massive coat that enveloped her petite form. That stature made it hard to remember that she was technically one of the most powerful Shepherds in the barracks. Beyond her sharp mind, there was a very good reason the adults were comfortable with her, despite how young she was, being on the battlefield.

That sharp glare she gave me made me swallow hard.

"Lie about what?" She growled back, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

You'd think I'd drop the subject at this point, but you know what they say: curiosity killed the cat. In this case, I was the cat, and Morgan the curiosity.

"You told them it was a Deadlord that killed Libra."

Morgan inclined her chin at me, "And that's what it was." She bent down to pick up the book she wanted to read, "Deadlords are that dangerous and-"

"It was Grima, not a deadlord." I interrupted, making her freeze again, "And you know it."

"Keep it down!" She hissed, wheeling around to face me, "Do you want to draw the others' attention to that!"

I needed to play this carefully. Morgan was still under the impression that I have amnesia and-

"You're lying too." She muttered, her gaze narrowing on me.

_Fuck!_

"I-I don't know-"

The panic Morgan initially had when I asked her about Grima, faded away. Instead, she looked at me with intense curiosity, mixed with a healthy dose of wariness. Her fingers drummed along the spine of the book she held, and a low hum slipped from her lungs. My stomach dropped as a knowing look formed on her face, followed by a cold, accusatory stare.

"You don't have amnesia, do you?"

My throat bobbed, and her mouth opened, taking my hesitation as an answer.

"I knew it." She said as she stepped right up to me, her eyes cold as she stared into my uneasy ones.

A knowing smile broke across her face, one that made me feel even more uneasy. I never thought Morgan could make me feel afraid, but there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes that told me if I took one wrong step, I would be done for. Somehow, I felt more afraid now than I did when Tiki stared me down over this exact topic.

_Like father, like daughter._

"I actually suspected it too, y'know." Her hand reached out and tapped my chest. I felt a slight pulse of static rush through my shirt, which made my hands start to shake at my side, "After all, I lived with an amnesiac for most of my life. My father did not have any memories from before his time with the Shepherds. And, well… you don't behave anything like him."

"Well, I'm not him so-"

"He never slipped up."

"Slipped up?"

"That song you sang, when all of us were going to rescue Lucina from Port Ferox; remember that? I don't care how familiar the tune Owain played was, there is no way you would have been able to recall an entire song off hand like that. And to sing it so well too..." She shook her head, "The others might not have noticed, but I certainly did. Nevertheless, I did give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, you were trying to save a friend of mine, and I never considered you to be a threat."

"A threat?"

"Which you are now." Morgan's smile ran away from her face as she snarled at me, "Tell me, what do you know about Grima?"

My mouth felt dry as she stepped back from me, clearly opening up some distance for her to cast a spell. I made no move to draw my weapons, because if I did, I'd be dead. There was a killer shine in Morgan's gaze that reminded me all too much of the look Anna gave me when she first weaseled the truth out of me, and when Henry thought I wanted to court Noire. She was deadly serious about her threat, even if she was not explicitly saying it.

"I'm not with him, if that's what you're wondering."

"Really?" Morgan shot back, "Because I'm still struggling to figure out how the hell you're even alive right now."

I snorted, "Yeah- well, join the club."

"I don't think I will." She took a few steps back from me, set the Schism book onto the table next to her, then reached with her free hand into her coat. That's when my knees started to knock together, "So, Sam, are you going to answer." Her eyes darkened, "Or must I make you?"

My heart jumped to my throat when she drew her spellbook from her coat. Sweat beaded in the creases of my palms. Now I was tempted to draw one of my daggers, if for no other reason than I felt it would at least give me a chance. A minuscule chance, but at least _a_ chance. I had a feeling Morgan was not going to like my answer no matter what I said.

"I don't know much."

"Another lie," Morgan snapped her spellbook open, "otherwise you would not have known what you were looking at in Arena Ferox. Lie again, and I will strike."

Not a bluff, I could see that much. Morgan fully intended to hurt me if I lied again. I needed to think of a way out of this, quickly. Even if I explained that I was from another world, what proof did I have? The only proof that seemed to work was my phone, but Anna fried that, so now it was nothing more than a paperweight. Tiki only accepted my story because Anna trusted me. But Morgan? Who's to say she even held Anna's opinion in as high of regard as Tiki? She wanted answers, and I had to give them.

"Would you just put the spellbook away." I said, trying my best to keep my voice calm, "I'm not an enemy, nor am I a threat." The corner of my mouth twitched as a nervous smile formed, "If you wanted to know, you could've just asked nicely."

Morgan frowned back, not amused by my attempt to lighten the mood. Her spellbook stayed out, and I sucked in a breath.

"Alright then." I exhaled, "I'm from another universe."

Her eyes narrowed further, and I swore I saw sparks dance along her fingertips. My heart pounded in my chest as I saw a faint glow start to form along the pages of her spellbook.

"I-I'm serious!"

"I can't wait to see you try to prove it." Morgan replied, a small ball of lightning forming in the palm of her hand.

_Think fast, Sam! _My throat bobbed as I took a careful step back from Morgan. _What is something you know about Morgan that only she would know? Something personal to her and her family._

Unfortunately for me, as entertaining as her interactions with the other Shepherds were in game, they did not reveal a lot of information about her. None that I could really use in this instance. The game version of Morgan never seemed to have a malicious bone in her body. But this Morgan in front of me clearly was tempted to destroy me with a powerful blast of lightning.

"As I thought, you have no proof." Morgan muttered. She pointed her palm at me, neither of us noticing the door to the library slowly creaking open, "Any last words?"

_I need something about her family, about her… Mother! Cordelia!_

"Little Lady Genius!" I spat out quickly.

The crackling lightning in Morgan's hands quit growing. She stared at me, her eyes wide instead of narrowed at me.

"What did you say?"

I swallowed hard, "Your mom, Cordelia; she was hazed and bullied by her comrades in the Pegasus Knights, before she joined the Shepherds. They called her Little Lady Genius."

Morgan stared at me, absolutely dumbfounded. Her spell continued crackling in her hand, but she did not have a dangerous gleam in her eyes anymore. So, hopefully that meant I was safe. Just as I was about to exhale, metal glinted out of the corner of my eye.

The hilt of a small knife smacked into Morgan's spellbook, knocking it from her hand. She gasped and jumped back, one hand holding onto the one the knife struck. Before I could react to that, another knife slammed into the table leg Morgan stood next to, right between her legs. I stared wide eyed at the knife wobbling in the wood, then whipped my head to the door. Anna stood in the doorway, a third knife ready in her hand.

"Oh shit…"

Anna's sharp gaze snapped over to me, and I had a sinking feeling in my gut that the third knife would find its way towards me if I breathed another word. So, I snapped my mouth shut, and watched as she turned her gaze back to Morgan.

"Pick up your spellbook." Anna grumbled as she sheathed her knife and strode up to both of us.

Morgan hesitated, then carefully picked up her spellbook. She grimaced at the visible dent the handle from Anna's throwing knife left on the cover, but her grimace was erased as Anna grabbed her harshly by the hood of her coat and yanked her towards the door.

"You will not breathe a word of what Sam said. You will not try anything like this again. If you do, I don't care who's kid you are, my knives will find a vital point in your body." She spun Morgan around, and I never saw Morgan look so pale in my life, "You never threaten the life of a comrade. Am I clear?"

Morgan quickly nodded.

"Get out."

Morgan retreated as fast as her feet could carry her. The door slammed shut behind her as she sprinted away, not wanting to risk Anna's fury any further. As the sound from the slamming door echoed through the library, I carefully made my way back towards the book I left in the chair I had been sitting in.

"Don't." Anna began, not even turning around to look at me. She glanced over her shoulder, a scowl on her face, "Not another muscle."

_How is she more terrifying than Morgan was? _I gulped as Anna stalked towards me, her eyes never leaving mine as one of her hands tapped the sheathed dagger against her hip, _Probably because I know exactly what Anna is capable of._

Anna stopped beside the chair next to mine, exhaled, then sank down into it. She drew in a deep breath, hands running over the armrests of the chair as her jaw worked back and forth.

"Sit down."

"Um… Anna?"

In a flash, her dagger was out. She burrowed the tip into the armrest, and her red eyes glared at me. Without another word, I fell down into the chair next to her.

I sat completely straight, my back rigid as a board as Anna drew in another deep breath next to me. Her hand cupped the pommel of her dagger, running over it absently as she glared at the door to the library. Her other hand ran over her mouth as a huff shot through her nose. She shook her head, then let both hands fall to her lap.

"Everything."

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry I-"

"Tell me everything, Sam." She glanced over at me, her gaze no longer furious, but tired, "I thought we agreed to not have anymore secrets between us?"

An enormous pang of guilt hit my heart, making it sink like a stone thrown into a lake. A knot formed when that stone landed in my gut, and I could feel the knot tightening as Anna's stare lingered on me. I couldn't meet her gaze with my eye as I quickly glanced down at my lap.

"We did, didn't we?"

Anna nodded. She drew in another deep breath, then sank back further into her seat, "I suppose I should've given you more credit, Sam. You're a better liar than I thought."

I grimaced, "More like a good half-truth teller."

"Still lies." She glanced at me, "So… out with it. How the hell do you know what Morgan's mom was called?"

My mouth felt dry as I rubbed my hands in my lap, "Well… it's hard to explain."

"Sam, if you dance around it anymore, then what thin patience I have left will be gone, and I'll ask Morgan to come back in here and hex you up to your eyeballs." I paled as she looked at me again, "And yes, Morgan knows how. Henry keeps giving her tips when the others aren't looking."

I drew in a deep breath, "Fair enough. Um…" I pursed my lips, "How do I explain a video game?"

"A what?"

"Think of- er- well, you remember my phone, right?"

Anna frowned, "I'm beginning to think that thing is more frustrating than fascinating."

"Heh, well," I rubbed my chin, fingers running along the beginnings of a short, dark beard, "Not exactly wrong there." I puffed out a breath, "Well, there are other devices like that in my world that play things called video games. Think of video games as an interactive story."

Anna furrowed her brow at me, "Interactive?"

"Like- oh God this is tough, um- like you are actively involved in the story as it takes place. In order for the story to move on, you have to complete tasks or missions in the game." I braced myself for the reaction to what I said next, "This world is the setting of one of those games."

I got a blank stare as a reaction. Then, she started laughing. Of all the reactions I could have thought of, laughter was the last thing I expected. Anna shook her head as her shoulders jumped up and down with quiet chuckles.

"Sam, what did I say about-"

"I'm not lying!" I said, cutting her laughter off, "Anna, you are a character in a story back in my world."

Her laughter slowly died as she looked back at me, "You're serious?"

"Why would I not be?"

Her entire demeanor shifted. Instead of being furious, or disbelieving, she looked stunned; an emotion I have never seen on Anna's face. She blinked several times as she sank into her seat, still attempting to absorb what I said.

"I'm a story character?"

I nodded, "So are the kids, and their parents. The story is mostly about the parents though."

"Like who?"

"Prince Chrom, Exalt Emmeryn, Princess Lissa, the Shepherd's tactician Robin, and the Shepherds themselves." I drew in a breath as she looked at me, wide eyed.

"So… you know us as a story. Which means you know the beginning of all of this." I nodded back, "And the end? You know what is going to happen to us right now!?"

"No, I don't."

Anna looked at me, confused, "What? But you-"

"I said the story mostly focused on the adults, the parents, and the struggles they endured. I know the basics of what happened in the Plegian War, the Valm War, and the beginning of Grima's rise to power. However, I have no idea what is going on right now."

"How could you not?"

I winced as Anna gave me an accusatory look, "Because the story never elaborated on what happened in the future, after those events. I know vague details, but the game only ever had a happy ending. The Shepherds won, Grima lost, everyone lived happily ever after, the end."

A frustrated snarl erupted from Anna as she surged from her seat. She paced a few steps away from her seat, hands on her hips, then she twirled around back at me.

"So you know nothing then? Nothing that could help us now?"

"I don't think so."

"You don't think so?"

"It's not like I can remember every detail of a story that took me days to complete!" I cried in reply, "You know how scatterbrained I am. I think the fact that I was able to remember what Cordelia was called by her bullies is a damn miracle in its own. Especially given Morgan was about to kill me." I blinked, "Holy crap, I didn't panic when she was about to kill me…"

"Getting distracted, Sam." Anna said. Her hands folded over her chest, "So, is that why Morgan was about to attack you? She figured out your deception and demanded to know what you knew."

I winced, "Sort of. She wouldn't have figured it out if I kept my damn mouth shut."

Anna furrowed her brow at me, "That's a problem you need to fix."

"Yeah…"

"And what do you mean by sort of?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line. This time, I didn't even debate whether or not to tell Anna what happened in Arena Ferox. Mostly because Anna could tell if and when I was lying.

"The… confrontation started when I called out a lie on her end."

"Oh?"

"It wasn't a Deadlord that killed Libra and Flavia." I stated, causing Anna to frown, "It was Grima."

Silence. Pure, deafening, silence. Anna's red gaze lingered on me as her fingers on her left hand tapped along her right bicep. Slowly, her head began to shake.

"Impossible. You saw how big Grima is."

"He has a human form."

"How would you know that?"

"Stories, remember?" I rebutted.

Now her eyes widened, "S-seriously?" She took a few steps towards me, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She muttered a few, indecipherable curses under her breath, then flicked her gaze back up to me, "Why would Morgan lie?"

Now came the part I worried about. It was absolutely essential to the story of Awakening that the future kids never learned about Robin's other identity until at least the Valm war. If they knew beforehand, they were liable to kill him once they saw him again, which could destroy the Shepherd's chances of defeating Plegia and Valm in their respective wars. Robin's role as the Grandmaster of the Shepherds could not be understated in such wars.

"Sam?" Anna took a step towards me, "Why would Morgan lie?"

I gulped, "You cannot tell the kids."

"What do you mean I can't tell the kids?"

"Because it is absolutely essential to eventually winning this war."

Anna furrowed her brow, "I thought you had no idea about the events going on right now?"

"I don't know about the future events going on right now." _That's a funny way of putting it, _"But I do know about the future events that are going to happen in the past- er- past events that are going to happen in the future? Uh…"

"What are you talking about Sam?"

I rolled my eyes, now exhausted from trying to explain everything, "I'm talking about time travel, damn it!"

Anna's head spun as confusion shot over her face, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Time travel. There is a ritual given to the kids, by Naga, that sends them back in time." I drew in a deep breath, "So when I say you cannot repeat what I'm about to tell you to the kids, it's because they cannot know. If they know what I'm about to tell you, it puts everything that could happen in jeopardy. Not just for this war, but the Plegian war, the Valm war, all of it."

Anna reeled from my words. She put her hands on her hips, and exhaled a long breath, "Damn, now I miss your sugar coating."

I snorted, "You see why I do it now?"

"Yeah, no kidding." She ran a hand over her eyes, "How much does Morgan know?"

"None of that. But, she absolutely recognized Grima."

"How?"

I drew in a deep breath, "Grima is Robin."

I could hear a pin drop in the library. Anna's face resembled stone, cold and unreadable. Her gaze hardened significantly as she stared me down. This time, I did not shrink from her stare. I simply sighed, one hand running over my eyes, then falling to my lap.

"It's the truth."

Her legs wobbled beneath her. My eyes widened as Anna carefully made her way back to her chair. Her hand ran along the armrest as she turned, then flopped back into the plush chair's waiting embrace. I glanced over to her, and saw that her face was paler than ever. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard.

"Oh Naga…"

I nodded, "Yeah…"

Her head fell into her hands, and her fingers raked through her red locks.

"Oh… Naga…" She yanked her head from her hands and snapped her gaze out the library window, eyes still wide, "We're going to lose this war." She looked back at me, "Aren't we?"

I slowly nodded my head, and even more life drained from her. Her hands trembled on the armrests of her chair as she flicked her eyes around the room.

"Oh gods…" She tucked her chin to her chest, "In those stories, how many of us made it to the past with the kids?"

Once more, a knot twisted in my gut. My heart ached as my silence spoke volumes to Anna. Her eyes slowly widened, and she visibly shrank in her seat. Suddenly the strong merchant and mentor I knew looked like a terrified, middle aged woman.

"None?" She whispered.

I drew in a deep breath, "None. Only the kids made it."

A shuddering breath left her lips, "None." She drew in a deep breath, but it came out as a shallow exhale, "All of us die." She ran a hand over her face, "No, no, that's not going to happen, no."

I wasn't sure how to handle this. I've never really had to deal with telling someone that they were going to die before. My occupation was a door to door salesman, not a doctor, or an EMT, or anything that involved people dying. Hell, until I got to this world, I had never had anyone I really knew die near me. Never even seen someone die before. Now I just told the person who was my closest friend in this world that she was not going to make it. She would die, just like all of the other parents, and only the kids would make it back in time.

"I'm… I'm sorry, An-"

She raised a hand, silencing me. Another shallow breath ran into her lungs, "No… no training today. Just-" She gulped, "I've got another meeting later this afternoon. Just go about your usual exercises."

Before I could say anything to her, she rose and marched out of the library. My eyes followed her as she quietly left, the door clicking softly shut behind her. Once again, I was alone, with nothing but books and my thoughts to keep me company. Only this time, I did not feel like reading.

I leaned forward in my chair, resting my elbows on my knees, and my chin on my hands. My eyes closed and I blew out a breath. Regret filled me as I replayed every conversation I just had over and over in my head.

"My goddamn foot…"

* * *

I remember how, back home, lots of people would choose to workout if they were having a particularly bad, stressful day. I was never one of those people. Sure, I dabbled in exercising during high school, back when I actually had time to hit the gym for that sort of thing. But I never did it when I was in a bad mood. Usually, when I was in a bad mood I would retreat home, put my headphones on, and blast the loudest music I could so that everything else around me would be drowned out.

Seeing as how that was no longer an option for me, I decided to see what all of those people who exercised angry were talking about. Needless to say, they were right.

I growled as my kukri bit into the straw practice dummy in front of me. The sharp steel slid through the burlap covering the straw like a hot knife through butter. Puffs of straw sagged out from the gash I made in the dummy, even as I wound up for a follow through strike.

What the hell was I thinking earlier? Seriously, what is wrong with my brain? That entire fiasco of a conversation with both Anna and Morgan could've been avoided if I just kept my damn mouth shut. Or if I just smiled at Morgan, said hi, then kept reading. Instead I called Morgan out on her lie, and I nearly got killed by her for it. Then Anna stepped in, and I basically told her she was absolutely going to die in this war. Not only that, I also told her that the only survivors of this war will be the kids, because they manage to escape to the past.

Some friend I am. Instead of reassuring Anna, or hiding such a terrible thing from her so she wouldn't have to live with the burden of knowing, I casually slammed it down on her without a second though. Only after I blurted everything out did I fully grasp the horrible burden Anna would have to bear. I had been so focused on avoiding any consequences on my own end that I completely disregarded how she would feel about the entire situation. I didn't even think about how she would feel knowing that in my world, she was nothing but a story character doomed to die.

I snarled and jammed the tip of my blade into the bowels of the dummy. As harshly as I could, I yanked my blade through the straw, disemboweling it and spilling straw out on my feet. But I wasn't done, as I drew the dagger strapped to my back with my free hand and jammed it all the way into the dummy's chest until the tip hit the wooden stake it was hanging from. With a sharp jerk, I yanked the dagger free, stepping back from the dummy as I reset myself to continue my mock battle.

I mean, just what the hell!? Why couldn't I just keep quiet!? Everything was fine when I was quiet. Everything is always better when I am quiet. No judging glares, no betrayed glances, no venomous words from someone I thought was a friend.

Morgan's actions flashed in my mind, and a rare spat of anger shot through my heart. With a cry, I threw my long dagger at the dummy, not even feeling satisfied as it burrowed between the dummy's imaginary eyes. Normally I would not feel so infuriated by what happened between me and her. She had some legitimate concerns about me. She could've gone about those concerns differently, but I could not deny that if I were in her shoes, I'd be just as wary of me.

At the same time, haven't I done enough to earn everyone's trust? Haven't I taken enough wounds? Haven't I nearly died enough to garner a little slack? Instead of getting the benefit of the doubt, Morgan immediately deemed me a threat. Why? Why was she so eager to attack? For that matter, why was she seemingly avoiding me if she's been so concerned about who I am for so long?

Did it all go back to Arena Ferox? She didn't want anyone knowing about Grima, and I called her out for her lie about it. Did she tiptoe around me before today because she wasn't sure how to talk about what we saw, so she just wanted to bury it? No, that couldn't be it. It doesn't sound like her, according to Lissa at least. Was Morgan still reeling from whatever spat she and Severa were in? What exactly was that all about anyways?

My gut churned as I paused in my furious assault on the dummy. Sweat dripped down my face, trailing down the bridge of my nose, until it dropped with quiet plops onto the cold ground below. My chest heaved as I sucked in heavy breaths.

_It's about Arena Ferox isn't it? Why would Severa- _

I blinked as I held my dagger and kukri loose in my hands. I could see the massacre all over again. Waking up alone as the Risen attacked. Weaving through the fire and death all around me, nearly dying twice, killing the brigand with my bare hands.

_I woke up alone._

Me and Morgan both fell off the same balcony together. So why did I wake up alone?

I shook my head. If my memory served me correctly, a wind spell jostled us away from each other. But it couldn't have separated us that much, right? I may not be an expert on magic, but I doubt a wind spell would fling me so far away that Morgan would not have been nearby to help, or vice versa if I woke up first.

_Why did I wake up alone?_

My arms felt numb as a terrible answer came to me. Morgan left me. She left me for dead. That explained why Severa was so furious with Morgan, and why Morgan seemed desperate to avoid me this entire time. She felt guilty, but she also was not willing to come up and talk to me about it.

I shook my head.

"No, no." I muttered as I paced in front of the dummy, taking a moment to catch my breath, "She… she wouldn't have done that on purpose. The Shepherds don't abandon people to die on purpose."

_Hate to break it to you, but they don't leave people to die period. Or have you forgotten about their insane attempt to rescue Exalt Emmeryn in the game?_

Again I shook my head. I shouldn't assume the worst in people like that. I don't like thinking about people doing terrible things intentionally. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was right. Why else would Severa be so furious nearly two week after the event? Granted, Severa seemed perpetually angry at everyone all the time, but I doubt she held such enraged feelings towards anyone, especially her sister, for long.

Morgan really left me to die. She woke up, saw me, and left. Why? Why would she, a Shepherd, so easily make that decision? She had to be skilled enough, and magically strong enough, to at least come and help me. Hell, she could have given me a shake and woke me up. Instead of doing that, she left. And I nearly died to Risen Hounds, the traitor Tharja, wounds, and hypothermia as a result.

Anger swelled in me, and I glared over at the straw dummy. Quietly, I sheathed the kukri, then drew my short dagger. The massacre flashed through my mind once more, and the dummy took on the grisly visage of the brigand I killed. Only this time, when he stood before me, I was ready for him.

My short dagger spun in my grasp as I lunged at the dummy, feinting a stab at it's already spilled guts before yanking up in a savage arc through its sternum. Without skipping a beat, I drew my weapon back and slid to the dummy's side. My elbow crashed into its face, making the entire dummy shudder. Finally, I slid around my target, brought my dagger to it's imaginary through, and slashed into the burlap.

A ragged breath left my lungs as I finished the combo. As I sucked in deep breaths, I looked past the dummy, and saw someone I did not expect. Frederick looked right at me, his eyes narrowed as he observed my handiwork. I gulped as his stare remained unbroken, even when his eyes flicked to the disemboweled, stabbed several times, throat slit, straw dummy.

"I'm uh…" I stepped back around the dummy, not aware that I still had my short dagger in my left hand. My right hand tapped the pommel of my long dagger as it remained buried in the dummy's face, "I'm working through some things."

"Clearly." Frederick grunted back. One of his gloved hands gestured at my left hand. I blinked, then realized I was accidentally brandishing my short dagger at him.

"O-oh!"

I fumbled with the scabbard on my hip as I struggled to jab the blade back in. A curse slipped from my lips as the blade slipped away from the scabbard and fell out of my grasp. Frederick cocked an eyebrow. A sheepish laugh left my lungs, and I quickly squatted down and picked up my dagger from the cold ground.

I shot back upright and offered the Knight-Commander an embarrassed smile.

"Clearly things have been worked through because I'm back to my usual, graceful self."

My embarrassed laughter did nothing to diminish the scowl that rested on Frederick's hardened face. My smile turned to a grimace as his gaze did not waver. Why exactly was he here anyways? He never paid much attention to me once Gaius and Anna decided they would train me. The few times Frederick ever acknowledged me usually involved curt nods, grunts of disapproval, or that small argument he had with Donnel in the bath house that was completely zoned out for. So why was he bothering with me now? Was this just an unfortunate coincidence that I managed to draw his ire?

_There have been plenty of unfortunate things happening today, so why not one more?_

Frederick drew in a deep breath, "Exalt Lissa and Princess Lucina deemed you ready, I however still have my doubts. Your little display proves those doubts correct."

I drew back a little bit, "My… uh… what?"

Frederick huffed at my puzzled response, "Do you think it would be wise to allow your emotions to cloud your mind while in battle, Samwise?" His hands folded in front of him as he seemingly lectured me from across the castle yard, "Lose control of yourself against the Risen at your own peril."

My mouth gaped open, then snapped shut. As Frederick spun away, the frustration from the entire day boiled over.

"Alright, alright…" I growled, making the Knight grind to a stop after a couple paces. I drew in a deep breath as I reigned in my anger, "What's your deal?"

"I beg your pardon?"

I rolled my eyes. Now I didn't feel angry, as much as I felt annoyed.

"Why are you so hellbent on thinking that I'm as useful as dirt?"

"Dirt has its uses, Samwise." Frederick replied, "Sometimes more than actual people." He started walking towards me before I could reply, his blue armor clanking with every casual step he took, "With dirt you can put out fires, grow plants, make a shelter even. Yes, dirt has many uses. So it is not a bad thing to compare yourself to."

Now I felt even more confused. Was he saying that the comparison was correct? I was dirt to him? What does that even mean now that I think about it? Is he saying that I'm more useless than dirt? Is he giving me some sort of forceful insult, or a backhanded compliment?

_This is when I wish I had better social skills. _I thought, _Note to self, ask Anna to teach me how to figure stuff like this out… if she ever talks to me again after what happened today._

At that moment, I noticed Frederick stood directly in front of me, his tall stature easily dwarfing my scrawny self. I flicked my green eyes up to meet his stern, brown ones. His hands were folded behind his back as he looked down on me, not a hint of emotion on his face.

"So… do you hate me or-"

Frederick uttered a long suffering sigh, "No, Samwise. I do not hate you. Am I still leery in regards to you, yes. But do I find you repugnant, incapable of improvement, or downright unpleasant? Certainly not." A small smile crossed his face, "The children don't seem to think so at least. While I'm not one to base my judgments upon theirs, Lucina's declaration about what you have done did give me plenty to mull over."

"It did?"

"Yes, so first I feel I must apologize if you ever felt I thought lowly of you. That was never the case."

"Oh, well that's good I-"

"I simply didn't think anything of you at all."

_Ouch._

"Especially once Gaius took you off of my hands." Frederick continued. He stepped by me to investigate the dummy I was working against. One of his large hands ran along the gash I tore through its stomach, fingers slipped beneath the burlap and into the straw, "Deep cut, good. You've kept your weapons sharp."

"Well, you did manage to teach me something I could use."

Frederick snorted, "That I did, didn't I?" He investigated the hole in the dummy's head from where I threw my dagger, "Anna has been teaching you how to throw knives now?"

"Actually no, that was just…" I sighed. I knew what to expect next after I stopped speaking, "That was me venting my frustrations."

"Frustrations about?"

I shrugged, "Ah well… I'm not the most socially graceful of people, and I tend to forget that when I'm talking to others." I pursed my lips, "I chatted with Morgan and-"

"Did you attempt to court her?"

Whatever words I had next left my lips in a sputtering, indecipherable mess. I looked at Frederick, dumbfounded and beyond confused.

"A-are you kidding me?"

Frederick shrugged, "It's a legitimate guess."

"No! It's not!" I cried. I ran a hand over my eyes, a long groan leaving my lips, "First Henry, now you, good grief." I shook my head, "No, Morgan and I discussed what happened at Arena Ferox, and it was not a pleasant conversation in the end."

Frederick frowned as he glanced back at me, "Arena Ferox? You mean when both of you fell from the Arena together?"

I winced, still feeling some phantom pain from those injuries, "Yeah." I rolled my right shoulder as it ached, "And well… I'd prefer not to talk any further about it."

"I do not blame you." Frederick nodded, "Such an event would leave some rather unpleasant thoughts to sort through. Morgan must feel the same way, so I'm sure the only reason you had a bad talk with her was due to both of you coming to terms with what happened."

_You could say that. _I thought, wincing internally. God only knows how close Morgan came to yanking the entire truth out of me. In the end, Anna was the one to hear the whole truth (and I trusted Anna a lot more with that information than I would anyone else). I could only begin to imagine Morgan's reaction if I blurted everything out to her.

_She probably would've killed me. _I gulped at that thought, _She certainly wanted to before I explained anything to her._

"Yeah uh… probably." I managed to reply, "Um, Frederick?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you talking to me right now?"

Frederick blinked, "Why? Well, I was observing you train. You've certainly improved, but you looked much sloppier now than you did during previous training sessions I have seen."

My eyes widened, "W-wait, you've seen me train before?"

"I make a point of observing all of the Shepherds' training at some point. Even if you are not under my direct instruction, it is my duty as Knight-Commander to see to the upkeep of the Halidom's army. You are part of that army as a member of the Shepherds, and as one of our scouts. So yes, I have been observing you on occasion. And, I can certainly say you have improved tremendously under Anna's tutelage." He nodded back at the dummy, "But even you would admit, she would not be happy with your performance just now."

"She wouldn't?"

"No, she would not." Frederick remarked with a shake of his head, "Your footwork was haphazard and sloppy. You did not have any purpose behind your swings. The only reason your daggers bit as far into the dummy as they did was because there was no armor to cut through, and you keep your weapons sharp. You were simply flailing out of anger, instead of focusing and following through with your strikes."

My mouth gaped at him, "I was?"

"Indeed." He wagged a gloved finger at me, "That is why you must never lose control of your emotions on the battlefield, Samwise. It renders you unfocused, and makes you mistake prone. It can happen even to the best warrior. The mark of a great warrior is their ability to remain calm in the face of great trials and challenges. Because those that are calm are focused, and thus they are more deadly."

I remained utterly silent as he walked past me, one of his large hands patting my bony shoulder as he walked by.

"You'll need to be as deadly as you can be, now that you are one of us."

I spun around as Frederick walked away. My eyes were glued to the perfectly polished, blue and white steel plates of his armor that held a faint reflection in them as he walked. The man that I thought wanted nothing to do with me actually gave me a lesson, and a valuable one at that? What other strange things were going to happen today?

"Oh, Samwise."

Frederick had turned back to tell me one more thing.

"I suggest you clear the air with Morgan as soon as you can. Unit cohesion is important for the Shepherds, after all. If you need to placate her somehow, I suggest a bear steak."

"Bear steak?" I repeated as he spun on his heel and marched to the castle keep.

I drew in a deep breath as the heavy doors to the keep clanked shut behind Frederick. More advice from someone I did not expect to receive any from. I suppose he was right, unit cohesion was important, especially in a desperate war like this one. The last thing anyone needed was for a rift to form between me and Morgan of all people.

Does that mean I understand, or forgive her actions? We'll see what happens when we talk again, but for now, I was willing to give that question a tentative yes. Clearly Morgan was the army tactician, and I was just a scout. I needed to rely on her for good orders, and she needed to rely on me for good intelligence. Yes, clearing the air would be an important thing to do then.

So that begged the question. Where on earth do I get bear steak at this hour?

* * *

Needless to say, Bear Steak appeared to be an extraordinary luxury that was so rare I actually had to venture out of the castle and into Nixtas in order to find the meat. Once I did manage to find a butcher on the far side of the town from the Castle, it took me a solid hour to get back (thanks to my horrendous sense of direction and unfamiliarity with the majority of the town). That left me very little time to figure out how to cook it before dinner time at the barracks.

How does one even serve Bear Steak? I sure as shit didn't know the answer to that. So, I treated it like a regular steak. Seeing as how I couldn't cook regular steak either, I cooked it the only way I knew how: very well done.

I grimaced down at the hockey puck made of meat, sitting on the wooden plate in my hands, as I ventured towards Morgan's small office in the castle, Yes, I too was surprised she had a designated office, but upon further thinking, it made sense. She was the Shepherds' tactician, and thus needed a private place to work on strategies for us to utilize in combat.

That privacy worked to my disadvantage in this case. As I stepped up to the closed, heavy, oak door, I drew in a deep breath, and exhaled. My hand trembled as it held the plate of still steaming bear on it. The situation earlier in the day still had not left my mind. Morgan was fully prepared to harm me for lying about me and my origins. What would happen now that we were definitely alone, and with no one coming by to check on either of us?

I gulped, raised my hand to knock, then lowered my hand as I began to second guess myself.

"Okay, Sam…" I exhaled, "Okay, she isn't going to try and kill you twice, right? Maybe?" I shook my head, "Unit cohesion. All for unit cohesion."

Finally, I mustered up what little courage I had, and knocked.

… No answer.

I furrowed my brow. Perhaps she did not hear me? With a frown, I knocked again. Once more, there was no answer.

_Huh? _Maybe my luck has struck again. I glanced down at the Bear Steak just as I was about to turn and leave. I knew my cooking well enough to know I would not eat this thing. Back home, I could barely cook Kraft Mac 'n Cheese, let alone grill game meat. With that in mind, I couldn't just throw this out. Besides, if Frederick found out I just walked away… I've got enough on my plate with one Shepherd upset with me, I don't need two.

Carefully, I opened the door to the study. I peeked inside as the door cracked open. It was a smaller room than I expected. Barely big enough for a desk and a pair of bookshelves. There was a small, slender window against the far wall from the door. Dying sunlight filtered into the study, while a couple candles burned on the desk. The small desk was covered with maps, documents, open books, and jars upon jars of ink- all empty, full, or half used. Several of the scraps of paper had ink splotches strewn all over them. In short, the desk looked like a complete and utter mess.

And Morgan looked like an even bigger mess than her desk as she sat in her chair at the desk, ink stained hands in her hair. Her head was bowed as she stared down at a map right in front of her.

"I thought I told you all I didn't want to be disturbed." Morgan muttered, noticing that her door had opened without even glancing up from her work.

I cleared my throat, and her gaze snapped upright. I shrank a little as she gave me a cold stare.

"Samwise." She said, her voice cold as her hands fell to the desk, smudging ink all over the map in front of her.

I grimaced, "I uh- didn't mean to interrupt but, well…" I stepped all the way inside and made sure to shut the door behind me. I might not feel entirely safe in here, but I figured being polite would go a long way towards making this situation better, "To be completely honest, Frederick told me to come and clear the air with you."

Morgan arched a dark eyebrow, "Frederick?"

"Yeah, it surprised me too. I was pretty sure the guy wanted nothing to do with me but-"

"And what makes you think I want to converse with you tonight?"

_Geez, could you get any colder? _I thought as I fumbled with my words a moment.

"W-Well I-" I cleared my throat, then raised the plate of bear steak to eye level, "Peace offering?"

Morgan blinked, "Is that-"

"Bear, yup." I nodded, still feeling very nervous as I stood anxiously in front of the door.

Morgan pursed her lips, flicked her eyes back and forth, then sighed, "Fine. Come sit down."

_It worked!?_

I quietly made my way into the chair across from Morgan. As I sat down, I set the wood plate down on top of her ink stained maps and documents. Briefly, I glanced at the various notes she had taken down. The top pile had something to do with the Emblem Gems on it. Those notes almost resembled a research paper of sorts. But the maps, they were all of Arena Ferox.

Morgan dragged the plate closer to her, drawing my attention away from the maps and back to her. She gave the piece of leather that passed for steak a curious glance before picking up the fork and poking it.

"It looks a little overcooked."

I cringed, then shrugged, "I tried."

She glanced up at me, "You cooked it?"

I nodded.

"You could've asked one of the other Shepherds to cook it, you know?"

I blinked, "I didn't even think of that."

Morgan snorted as she set her fork back down on the plate, "For someone who has to play an act like amnesia, you are pretty bad at thinking things through."

"Yeah…"

She shook her head, plucked her fork again, then jabbed it into the entire steak, "I mean, as further evidence, you forgot a knife."

My mouth fell open, "I did… huh… well, I guess I'm way more focused on keeping up my amnesia act rather than grabbing utensils."

Morgan uttered a small laugh at that, and I felt some of the fear I felt earlier ebb away. So far, so good. Frederick was right! The bear steak worked, even if it is horribly overcooked and resembled a lump of coal more than a hunk of meat.

Morgan let go of the fork, then pushed the plate to the side. As she did so, the small amount of triumph and confidence I did have faded away. She folded her ink stained hands in front of her, red eyes narrowed at me.

"So," She began, "We never finished our conversation."

I laughed quietly at that, "You call what went down a conversation?"

I noticed a ghost of a wince flash over her face, "I'll admit, it could've gone better. You accusing me of lying threw me off guard, and I don't like being taken off guard like that. It's my job, in fact, to not be caught off guard."

I nodded in understanding, "Well, for what it's worth, I apologize for my hand in the issue."

Morgan nodded back, "Apology accepted."

A long silence lingered between both of us. I shifted in my seat, and leaned forward.

"So, um… what-"

"If you expect me to apologize for what happened today, it's not happening." My heart lurched as Morgan spoke, "I would not change how I acted in the moment. I discovered your lie, and I decided to act accordingly since my suspicions were confirmed and I was no longer certain of your allegiances. One cannot be too careful in today's day and age." Her cold demeanor suddenly shifted, and she leaned back in her seat, "However, I do owe you an apology for something else."

_Oh?_

Morgan pressed her lips into a thin line. Her fingers drummed the top of her desk, barely making a sound over the thick, paper padding layered over the desk by the many maps in front of her.

"I left you for dead that day, at Arena Ferox. For that, I am sorry. I-" She gulped and drew in a deep breath, "I was not in my right mind at the time, and I did not act the way I should have. I should've helped you."

"Yeah," I muttered in reply, "You probably should have." I drew in a deep breath as I folded my hands in my lap, "Can I ask you a question?"

"About?"

"Why did you leave me?"

Morgan gave me a wary look, "I told you, I wasn't in my right mind."

"Because of Grima?"

Her eyes closed and she exhaled. A small nod was the only answer she gave me.

"Why did you lie about seeing him?"

Her red eyes snapped open, "Why did you lie about having amnesia?"

I snorted, "What do you think is more believable? Amnesia, or accidental inter-dimensional traveler?"

Her lips twitched, "Fair point there. Frederick probably wouldn't have helped you much if he thought you were already driven insane by the world."

"Mhmm." I leaned back, "I answered yours. I think it's only fair you answer mine now."

A heavy huff escaped Morgan's lips as she sank back in her seat. There was a glaze over her eyes as she stared blankly down at the maps in front of her.

"I lied because… because I didn't really know what to do."

"You didn't know what to do?" I parroted, confused, "But, it was Grima. You know it was Grima so-"

"You saw Grima," Morgan drew in a deep breath, then exhaled shakily, "I saw my father."

Her words hit me like a heavy punch in the gut. As I remained utterly silent, Morgan leaned forward, steepling her fingers in front of her.

"I um…" She paused a moment, collecting her thoughts, "I wasn't very old when this whole stupid war started. I was eight, and Sev was eleven." A wistful smile crossed her lips, "You know, before this war, we were a pretty tight knit family. Father, mother, Sev, me; we did everything together. The one exception was training. Father decided to personally teach me magic, despite Miriel and Tharja offering to instruct me for him. Meanwhile Sev… Sev trained a little bit with mother, but she mostly worked with Lucina and Inigo. So, you could say Father and I were extremely close."

"Sounds like it." I replied.

"Yeah." Morgan's smile wavered a little, "One of…" She swallowed hard as she trailed off for a moment, "one of the last memories I have of him was the day he and mother went with Prince Chrom to Plegia, which wound up being the first battle of this war, unbeknownst to us." A light laugh left her lips, "That night, after dinner, while mother and Sev did something or another, me and Father started out favorite pastime: chess." She gave me an inquisitive look, "Have you ever played?"

"Chess?"

"Yes. Does that game exist wherever you're from?"

"Against all odds, it does." I replied, a small smile forming on my lips.

"Any good at it?"

I shrugged, "Eh, I don't think so. I could hold my own against people, but I wouldn't call myself very good. More of a casual player personally."

"That's a shame. It's a fun game." Morgan replied, "Father and I played it almost every night. That last night together was no different. We sat down in front of the fire, set up the chess board, and started our game. Before we could finish our first game, a messenger arrived, taking my parents away for a mission to Plegia." A sullen look fell on her face as her red eyes glanced down at her desk, "I never got to finish that game with my father. That was… that was the last time I saw him."

My eyes widened in understanding, "Until Arena Ferox."

"Yes," Morgan croaked back, some tears misting in her eyes, "Until Arena Ferox." She quickly reached up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "I saw him and- and I froze. I didn't now what to do. I just… I couldn't stay. I couldn't fight my father. Not just because he's my father, and I still love him, but-"

She grimaced and tucked her chin. Once more my eyes roved over the maps in front of her. I realized, upon glancing at the various lines and unit sketches strewn all over the maps, that they were depictions of the entire massacre.

"You can't beat him."

Morgan scoffed. One of her legs bounced beneath the table, "I never beat him at chess, so how the hell can I beat him at warfare? Especially now that he is… he is… unrestrained. But he is also still- ugh!" She raked an inky hand through her hair and closed her eyes, carefully reigning in her frustration.

"He's your father."

"Yes! And that is honestly the most terrifying part of all of this!" Morgan cried as she shot to her feet, "I look at all of the maps, every scenario and strategy I can think of, and no matter what happens we lose!" She shifted maps along her desk, "He even gave me a clue as to what he was going to do, and I failed to counter it." She snorted as her ink stained fingers sifted through equally stained maps, " 'He'll strike where you least expect it'." Morgan snorted, "Some clue that was. How could I have known that he would literally strike us from within!" One of her small fists pounded the table, "It was just like him."

I remained quiet in front of the desk. For some reason, I got the feeling she was no longer aware that I was in the same room as her. Morgan's ranting descended into indecipherable muttering as she snatched an empty piece of paper, a quill from an inkwell, and started scratching notes on it. After a couple sentences, she uttered a frustrated snarl. She chucked her quill off to the side, then grabbed the paper and quickly crumpled it up.

"No matter what I do, we lose."

I cleared my throat, and she jumped where she stood.

"Oh, Naga, Samwise! I-" Morgan cleared her throat and shook her head, "I think I'm still rattled."

"Looks like it." I gestured to the bear steak, "If that is as inedible as it looks, then I suggest you and I go back to the barracks for something to eat."

A ragged sigh escaped Morgan's lips. She raked one hand through her hair once more, then let it fall down to the desk with a solid thud.

"Yeah, probably." She muttered.

I gently rose from my seat. Morgan followed me over to the door. I opened the door and gestured at her.

"Ladies first?"

Morgan snorted, "Thanks."

_Did I detect some sass? Maybe her and Severa really are related._

Both of us stayed quiet as we walked out of the castle and outside towards the barracks. The sun had set, and stars appeared in the crystal clear night sky. A freezing wind swept in from the north, making me shiver. Meanwhile, Morgan appeared completely comfortable in her oversized coat.

I opened the door for her to the barracks, and we walked in on the rest of the Shepherds loudly eating their dinner. As usual, we heard plenty of smack talk, jokes, loud guffaws, and challenges declared. But as Morgan moved to the pot hovering over the fire in the fireplace, a few of the voices fell silent, most notably Severa's. She glared at Morgan, a venomous stare that caused Morgan to shift uncomfortably as she scooped soup into a bowl.

More of the loud voices died away, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other as Morgan stepped back from the pot and glanced around at everyone.

"Mind if I join you guys?"

Severa shot up from her seat. A defeated look fell over Morgan's face.

"I've lost my appetite." Severa grumbled as she stepped away from the table and made her way to the bunkrooms.

"Severa…" Lucina sighed, making the redhead pause at the hall entry, "This feud has gone on long enough."

"This isn't a feud." Severa replied, her back to Lucina and Morgan, "This is me having enough."

Without another word, Severa marched away. The silence she left in her wake remained as I quietly scooped myself a bowl of soup. While Morgan awkwardly took a seat beside Cynthia and Owain, at the bar counter, the door to the barracks opened.

"Hey Anna." Nah muttered, not even looking up from her book as she stood in her usual spot behind the bar.

"Hey kid." Anna sighed.

Anna's voice caused my head to whip back around to her. She didn't greet me, or even acknowledge me as she strode through the common room, then up the stairs to the bunkroom. At that moment, I didn't feel hungry anymore. I needed to talk to her. Or, at the very least, I needed to apologize.

I didn't hear any of the murmurs as I rushed up the stairs after Anna. Thankfully, I managed to catch up to her before she could enter the girl's bunkroom. Just as she gripped the doorknob, I called to her.

"Anna, wait."

She exhaled a long breath through her nose, "What Sam?"

I cringed at her weary tone, "You mind if we talk?"

"The last time we talked, you…" Anna bit her lip and drew in a deep breath, "Fine… fine. We'll go to the other bunkroom."

Thankfully, the men's bunkroom was empty. I half expected to find either Gerome or Yarne in here already. Gerome because he never liked to be around anyone, and preferred to brood alone in some dark corner or another; and Yarne because I got the feeling the only safe place he thought he had was his cot. Even then, the Taguel was convinced something was trying to kill him at night. His paranoia had only grown worse since his father's death, and I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

In this instance, I could understand the anxiety he felt. I managed to pull Anna to the side for a chat, but now that we were alone, I had no idea how to start this conversation. My mouth opened, closed, opened again, then snapped shut.

"Are you gonna say something, Sam?" Anna asked, one hand on her hip as her exhaustion shifted to annoyance.

"Yeah um," I rubbed the back of my neck, "I'm sorry."

Anna raised an eyebrow, "For?"

"I basically said that you had no hope." I replied, "That you were going to die. And… and that was wrong. I shouldn't have said that."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have." Anna huffed. She stepped off to the side and sank to a seat on one of the bunks. Brady's bunk, if I recalled correctly. The priest wouldn't care, and that was likely why Anna decided to sit there, "Though to be fair, I brought it on myself. You tried to keep the truth from me, for my sake and the others's sake, and well… I kept pushing." She drew in a deep breath and brushed a stray lock of red hair from her forehead, "And don't worry, what you told me I will keep in confidence. Information like that is about as useful as an ill fated prophecy. You don't know how to defeat Grima, and you don't have some way of figuring out how, beyond whatever ritual you told me about."

"Which I have no details on."

"Exactly." Anna nodded. She rubbed her thighs, wincing a little bit, "Naga, why did I sit down? I've been sitting all day in meetings, but now it hurts too much, and I'm too tired to try and get up."

"Have you eaten anything today?" I asked, out of the blue.

Anna blinked, "I ate some bread with cheese this morning."

"That's not a meal."

"For me it is."

"No, it's not." I argued back, "I'll get you some soup, just wait here."

Anna snorted, "Wait a moment, Sam."

I paused at the door and glanced back at her. There was a slight grin on her face as she looked at me. She shook her head, another snort coming from her as she slumped in her seat.

"Do you think there is any way to change the fate you know about?"

I pursed my lips, "To be honest, I don't know."

Anna's face fell, "I didn't think so." She sighed, "Well, then we're going to figure out a way. Because I refuse to die before that damn, six eyed lizard bites the dust."

I chuckled at that, but Anna did not laugh with me.

"I mean it, Sam." Anna continued, my laughter dying in my throat, "I will not die. I-" She choked a moment, "I can't. Not to him or the Risen." Her hands balled up into tight fists at her sides, "Sam, as soon as that boat Lissa found is ready for me, I'm leaving. I don't care how ready you may or may not be, I'm gone once I get the chance."

Pain lanced through my heart at that. Judging by what she said, Anna must've been considering staying behind and continuing the fight before I told her the truth today. Otherwise she wouldn't have made her decision sound so final right now. That made the hurt I felt resonate even more. The truth made it certain she would leave. Perhaps I should feel happy though? If she left, as she intended to do, then that means she likely wouldn't die to Grima. She'd sail east, across the sea to a continent hopefully unknown to Grima. She'd live... and I'll still be here, fighting for my life, without her to guide me along. A lone scout in the Shepherds. What a terrifying thought.

"I understand." I breathed.

Anna growled, "Naga, don't make this harder than it already is, Sam." She rose from her seat, wincing as her muscles protested, "The meeting I had today was me telling Lissa and Tiki that I was really done. By the end of the week, I'm going to Ylisstol. I've got a few things to take care of there before making my way to the coast."

"Then you'll be gone." I replied, my voice quiet in the bunkroom as my hand hovered over the doorknob.

Anna nodded, "And you'll be on your own."

I swallowed hard, "I don't think I'm ready for that."

Anna huffed and shook her head, "Damn it, Sam…" She bowed her head, arms folded over her chest, "You're gonna have to be." She finished with a slight croak.

"Yeah… guess so." I drew in a deep breath, then opened the door, "I'll be right back with some soup for you."

"Sam-"

"No arguing." I cut her off, "You gotta eat something."

Anna chuckled under her breath and threw her hands up in defeat, "Fine." She fell back to her seat on Brady's bunk, "I'll be waiting here."

"You better be." I replied with an ironic smirk.

Before Anna could retort, I slipped out of the bunkroom and marched back to the common room. Once more, all of the kids glanced at me as I made my way over to the pot of soup. I grabbed two bowls, then froze as I heard quiet snickering behind me. I raised my brow, and glanced back at Brady, Owain, and Inigo.

"Dinner date, Samwise?" Inigo asked, with a waggle of his brow.

My cheeks turned bright red.

"It is!" Brady and Owain roared, loud laughs surging from their lungs while the rest of the kids chuckled with them. The only ones who were not audibly laughing were Morgan and Lucina. Morgan just looked uncomfortable, and Lucina had a look of quiet amusement on her face.

"Enough teasing, you three. Anna's likely had a hard day." Lucina explained, making me realize that she was already aware of why Anna didn't want to linger and talk with all of them. She was probably involved in the meeting between Anna, Lissa, and Tiki, "Samwise is just being a good friend."

"Y-yeah, just being a good friend." I repeated, pink still staining my cheeks as I took two full bowls of soup back to the stairs.

I heard more laughter and chatter behind me as I ascended the steps. It was all probably more gossip and jokes at my expense, but I couldn't give a damn at the moment. To me, Lucina was correct. Being a good friend to Anna was more important to me than any mild embarrassment I had thanks to Brady, Owain, and Inigo's teasing.

I opened the door to the bunkroom, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Anna still sitting there, waiting.

"What?" Anna asked, a smirk on her lips, "Did you think I'd leave that quickly?"

"I got that impression, yeah." I jokingly replied.

"Ha! Well, you still have to wait a week. Then you'll be rid of me."

A pained smile crossed my face, one I did my best to hide, "No more beatdowns then? Yippee!" Anna snorted out a laugh, and I held out her bowl, "I hope you're in the mood for potato soup."

"I'm never in the mood for potato soup, Sam." Anna replied, smile never wavering on her lips. She took the bowl, "But I am grateful for it."

I flopped down on the bunk beside her, and we ate in relative silence. Occasionally, we chatted about what we might wind up doing tomorrow. Training was first and foremost on my mind, but Anna also mentioned that Henry wanted to speak to me at some point tomorrow. She laughed at my visible shudder, which made me chuckle along with her.

For as bad a day as it had been, it wound up turning into a nice evening thanks to a bowl of potato soup.

**And chapter! Another character heavy chapter! We finally get the conversation between Morgan and Sam, and an even heavier talk between Anna and Sam. Writing moments like that between all of these characters is just way too much fun! Also, this is the last chapter before I kick of the next round of major events for this story, so be prepared! It's going to get crazy!  
Anyways, let me know what you all think of this story! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!  
**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also! Check out the Fanfiction Treehouse podcast; hosted by myself, Narwhal Lord, RedXEagl3, and Stormtide Leviathan! We chat about writing techniques, topics, and stuff like that. New episodes are put out on Saturdays, and you can find them on Soundcloud or Spotify!**


	26. Lack of Intelligence

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 25

Lack of Intelligence

The last time I decided to pay Henry a visit, it had been by complete accident. I meant to go and meet Miriel for the first time for instruction on various herbs and plants that existed in the wild (instruction that had continued since then, but only in short bursts. Thankfully, books on the topic were plentiful in Nixtas's Castle Library. Though I've never been interested in botany). However, instead of finding Miriel's workshop, I found Henry's. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure I still have mental scars over that ordeal.

So when I reached Henry's new workshop, located coincidentally (or maybe not?) in the basement of Castle Nixtas, I felt the tremendous urge to turn around, walk back up the stairs, and completely ignore the Dark Mage's request to speak with me. I mean, he never gave me a specific time anyways. Perhaps it would be better to have Henry come and find me, so that we can speak in a setting that is not so intimidating or dangerous.

_Then again, knowing Henry he'll show up in the middle of the night while I'm asleep and scare the shit out of me. _I thought with a heavy sigh.

I rubbed my forehead as I stood in front of the door to the workshop. After a couple more moments of deliberation, I decided to press forward. The last thing I wanted to do was offend the crazy sorcerer by not showing up when he asked to see me. That could be grounds for swift and painful execution in Henry's mind. Somehow that might not end up being the most terrifying thing that could happen to me, but I preferred to limit the number of heart stopping experiences I had to go through.

So, with a heavy sigh, and great anxiety in my thoughts, I tapped my knuckles against Henry's door.

On the third knock, the door creaked inward, unlatched and unlocked. My shoulders sagged as the door groaned on old, rusted hinges.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

I glanced down at my feet, and groaned.

_Why? Why the hell does this happen to me? _

I sucked in one large breath, steeled my nerves, and stepped into the dark room. As always, thanks to Anna's training, as soon as I entered the room I quickly took stock of my surroundings, starting with possible escape routes. Unfortunately for me, there were no windows down in the basement of Castle Crixtas. The only route of escape was through the door I just came through. Lucky me.

_Probably shouldn't go much further into the room then. _I thought as I glanced at the dark silhouettes around me.

I could make out shadowy, unlit candlesticks sitting on a pair of desks across from me. Three bookshelves sat along the walls around me. One had books on it, the other two had jars full of various alchemical curiosities within it. I couldn't make out what exactly they were, due to the dense darkness within the room, but I did see that there were several objects floating in liquid, which did not give me any pleasant ideas about what they were. Beyond the strange jars, the desks, and the bookshelves, there wasn't much to look at inside of the dark room. There was however a rancid smell that I could not place. I sniffed the air again, wrinkled my nose, then sighed.

"Again, why me?" I muttered.

A crow cawed next to my right ear, nearly causing me to jump up into the ceiling. My heart hammered in my chest as I looked over at the shadowed out bird, which sat comfortably on a small metal perch near the door. I could barely make out its dark brown eyes as it glared at me in the darkness.

_First Anna's chicken, and now Henry's crow. I swear birds hate me. _I thought as I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I shook my head and flicked my eyes around the room one more time.

_Doesn't look like he's here. Maybe it's my luck day and-_

"Hello there."

"Jesus H. Christ!" I cried as my head snapped to my left and saw Henry's blue eyes looking at me.

Fear catapulted me to the side of the door. I bumped into the crow's perch, making the bird squawk, flap its wings near my ears, and elicit another terrified yelp from me. I backpedaled further into the room, tripped over something metal, and fell backwards onto a soft rug that rested right in front of the two desks.

Adrenaline shot through my veins. I scrambled to my feet, one hand surging towards my kukri on my right hip, the other reaching for the short dagger on my left. Before I could draw either of them, I heard familiar, amused, cackling in the darkness.

"Oh Samwise! What is the _caw-se _of such alarm? Nyahahahaha!"

A rare rush of anger shot through my veins.

"You!" I roared, even as a couple puffs of orange fire drifted from Henry's fingertips, sailed past either side of me, and touched the wicks of the candlesticks on the desks.

"Me?" Henry gasped, one hand on his chest, "Why, I'm touched by such a compliment."

"It's not meant to be a compliment." I grumbled back, both of my hands falling from my weapons as the white haired dark mage lingered near the door, cutting off my only route of escape.

_He planned that. The pale bastard totally planned that._

"But I will take it as such." Henry chirped cheerily as he shut the door to his small workshop, "Also, I'm pleased to see you answered my request."

I gave Henry a nervous shrug, "I figured I'd better make meeting you a priority otherwise something nasty would be in store for me."

Henry uttered another loud cackle, "Oh you know me so well! And yet, we've spoken so little. Perhaps you've been spying on me, hm? Using those sneaky skills Gaius and Anna have given you?"

I paled, "Why would I spy on you?"

Henry shrugged as he glided along the floor over to his desk. A desk that had several jars filled with… with rotting organs in them. In the midst of those jars was one more jar with a curious looking purple beetle inside of it.

"Not quite sure why. But does there need to be a specific reason?" Henry replied. He didn't bother to take a seat in the chair behind his desk; deciding to just sit on the edge of the desk instead, "I mean, if you are spying, you better have a good reason, otherwise I might just have to do something particularly bad to you."

How the hell is Henry capable of making such simple words like 'bad' and 'to you' sound so terrifying? I gulped at that thought, and decided to quickly change the topic.

"Why did you want to see me again?" I asked, my voice coming out more as a high pitched squeak rather than a pressing, annoyed tone.

Henry smirked at me, "Samwise, is it not appropriate to desire to speak to a comrade of mine? By the way, congratulations on that. You have been found worthy of serving our _caw-se_. Nyahahaha!"

I arched an eyebrow, unamused. Part of me was tempted to just say goodbye and leave already, but the more rational side of me reminded me that this was Henry. Acting rude to him could cause Henry to seek swift retribution. Better to keep the insane sorcerer happy and giggling like the madman he is, rather than draw his ire.

"Funny." I replied, my voice monotone.

"I know." Henry grinned back, "But, unfortunately, I did not call for you to exchange jokes and whatnot. I have a task for you. One that I do not have the time to complete myself."

A task, for me? Beyond the usual training exercises Anna gave me, no one else in the Shepherds really asked me to do anything. Occasionally someone would ask me to cook, to which I would respond: "So you aren't interested in eating today?". But that was the extent the other Shepherds asked for favors from me. I figured that the reason for the lack of tasks, assignments, or favors was due to Anna watching me like a hawk whenever I could actually engage in such activities. The kids were more than a little nervous around her, especially when she was in a hostile mood, and the other Shepherds didn't appear to want to deal with her much anymore. Especially since she declared her intentions to leave the army by the end of the week.

_Then again, Henry is crazy enough to ask me to do something even if Anna was right next to me. _My eyes widened, _Oh shit, he just asked me to do something for him. This is bad._

"Samwise, are you perhaps unwell?" Henry asked hopping down from his desk, "You look a touch ill? Perhaps the corpse's stench is getting to you?"

"Corspe's sten- what the fuck!"

I glanced down at the ground, by my feet, and saw a half frozen corpse lying on the carpet. Most of the body looked rotted. The jaw bone was completely exposed, and both eye sockets were shadowy voids. Bits of skin still clung to the neck and cheeks of the skeleton, but beyond that, it looked like Henry recently dug the corpse out from a grave. An action that was not out of the realm of possibility. The corpse wore armor that looked rusted and faulty. The cloth tunic beneath the armor was frayed and stringy. It looked like it had been dead for a long time.

_Oh God he really did rob a grave?_

"Can I just say that I am impressed by your willpower, Samwise?" Henry chuckled, "Normally, the sight of an unconscious Risen is enough to make anyone wet themselves."

_A what?_

"Eh?" I squeaked.

"Yup!" Henry chirped. He gestured to the jars of organs in front of me, then tapped the jar with the violet beetle lingering scurrying along the sides of its own jar, "How do you think I got these?" He peered at the beetle in particular, "Curious creature. Nothing like it exists in the natural world. Both Miriel and myself cannot find any records of it anywhere. Which of course, leads us to believe it is some sort of artificial creation. Magical in nature, yes?" He waved a hand, "Oh there I go again, getting carried away, nyahaha! Not like you're interested in the mundane magical studies we engage in."

The crow cawed on its perch near the door, and Henry flicked his icy eyes over to it.

"You'll have your fleshy meal in a moment, Bill."

Of all the things to catch me utterly off guard now, the name of the crow somehow was the thing that made my mind completely break.

"The crow's name is Bill?"

"Nyahaha, yes it is. Take a good long look at his beek. If you look at it in just the right lighting, it looks like a bill instead of a beak. So I named him Bill. Nyahaha! Clever yes?"

My eye twitched, "Very."

"I'm glad you think so too." Henry said, hands clasped in front of him as he sank into his chair. Somehow he was completely unaware that I was neither impressed, nor amused, but rather horrified and afraid. Or perhaps he was entirely aware, and just chose to continue playing along knowing it would unsettle me further?

_Why did I agree to come here again?_

"Now then, as much as I enjoy talking about corpses, bugs, and birds, we need to get back to the reason you are here." Henry drew in a breath, "The task I have in mind for you involves you helping me… borrow something of Miriel's."

"Borrow?" I replied, "You mean steal?"

Henry grinned at me, "Samwise, I don't steal. That is quite the naughty thing for a man to do."

_Says the homicidal maniac who nearly killed me over a complete misunderstanding._

"One has to be without any sort of moral compass to want to steal something. Hence why we are only borrowing this thing I seek." Henry leaned over his desk towards me, his voice dropping to a whisper, "In case you do not know, borrowing means we will eventually be putting this thing back."

I frowned back, "I'm aware."

"Oh good! I knew you had some intelligence in that timid brain of yours." Henry smiled back, "Now then, I need you to-"

I raised a hand, stopping the dark mage from speaking any further, "I haven't agreed to this yet."

"Oh?"

"And why should I agree to this task?"

"Why should you do what I say, you mean?" Henry replied, leaning back in his seat as that same, unnerving grin sat on his face, "Well, I figured you had sharper survival instincts than this, Samwise."

I paled, "E-excuse me?"

"Well, you are now aware that I want to borrow something from Miriel. And while I fully intend on having the object returned, normal and unharmed, the other Shepherds will not look kindly on this action. And well… that could lead to ouchies for me, which I'm not too keen on experiencing."

I nodded, as I folded my hands in front of me, "And?"

"I cannot allow the others to know about this. If you join me in borrowing what I seek from Miriel, you are my companion. If you decide to not join me," Henry's entire demeanor shifted, his smile widened to an unnaturally wide grin, his eyes squinted dangerously at me, and his voice took on a much more menacing tone that made me shake where I stood, "you are a loose end instead."

My stomach twisted into a tight knot, and my mouth went dry. I swallowed hard, finding it difficult to do due to the iron ball that formed in my throat. I opened my mouth to reply, but the words got stuck in my throat. Lodged somewhere between my lungs and the iron ball making it difficult for me to breathe. A quiet croak escaped my lips, and Henry clapped his hands.

"Excellent! I knew you would see things my way." The threatening aura emanating from Herny faded as his more jovial demeanor returned, "So, I need you to sneak into Miriel's workshop, and get me her research notes on the Emblem Gems."

I blinked, "The-the what?"

"Nyahahaha!" Henry cackled, "That's a good one, Samwise. I know that you know what the Emblem Gems are, because you recovered one from Arena Ferox."

I blinked, "O-oh right, Gules. The red, glowy, thingy."

"Exactly!" Henry replied with a big nod, "You see, ever since you recovered the gemstone, Miriel has been invited to the many military meetings with Tiki, Lissa, and Freddy. They never bothered to invite little old me."

_Gee, I wonder why?_

"That's tragic."

"I know!" Henry cried, "You'd think they thought I wasn't trustworthy enough to be involved in such important stuff. But believe me when I say, I am. Well, I should be involved. Not just because I am trustworthy, but because I know things. After all, Miriel and I have been researching the Emblem Gems together for some time now. It's been the major focus of our efforts since at least Themis. Now, all of a sudden, I'm being excluded. And I don't like that. Not. One. Bit."

"And let me guess." I said, drawing in a deep breath as I braced myself for Henry's eventual answer, "You want me to find out what they're talking about?"

"Correct!" Henry nodded, "Miriel has to have notes on the meetings. Silly woman, can't go a single minute without recording everything around her. Good for a scientist, terrible for secretive meetings. Quite a flaw, actually. I made sure to _never_ point that out to her." He steepled his fingers, a friendly smile still on his pale lips, "I need you to steal the book with her notes on the Emblem and the meetings."

My throat bobbed as I swallowed hard. This reminded me all too much of the time I had to steal Anna's broach. Miriel might not react as violently, but stealing something as sensitive as meeting and research notes could still provoke a dangerous response. Not to mention the outrage someone like Frederick, who I might finally be getting on his good side with, would feel from such borderline traitorous activities.

In the end, I had a choice to make. Clearly Henry would not be steered away from this course of action. The fact that he already knows Miriel has been recording notes about the topics of the military meetings meant he has been planning this for some time. It would not surprise me if he has been covertly observing Miriel and the others enter and exit the meeting room in Nixtas Castle. Probably by using his crows to spy on the proceedings through the window.

_Can Bill do that? _I wondered as I glanced over my shoulder at the black bird. I furrowed my brow, _His beak does look a little like a bill._

"So, Samwise, can you accomplish this task?" Henry asked, making my eyes snap back around to him.

I drew in a deep breath, "Can I ask why you can't do it yourself?"

"Possible ouchies, and I'm busy with my current research."

"Research?"

"You tripped over it."

"Oooookay then." I grimaced, recalling the Risen corpse lying on Henry's floor, "Next question, since it's clear to me I can't get out of this, because if I reject this mission you'll likely kill me-"

"So insightful." Henry snickered, "You really do have a sharp mind. I have no idea what the children mean when they say you're ditzy?"

"D-ditzy?" I shook my head. Focus on the task at hand, Sam. The longer I'm in this workshop, the more danger I'm in, "How exactly do you want me getting these notes? Am I going to copy them down or-"

"Pfft," Henry threw his head back and laughed loudly, making me jump a little in my seat, "You, copy Miriel's notes? Nyahahaha! You also have a talent for jokes. Maybe I should approve of you seeking Noire's hand. I'm liking you more and more by the second."

I gulped, "Not sure if that is a good thing right now."

"No, no." Henry drew in a breath, "You can't copy the notes, because you can't open the book they are in."

I arched an eyebrow, confused, "I can't open the book?"

"Correct! You see… hm… how to explain this?" Henry snapped his fingers, reaching into his robes, and dropped his spellbook on the desk in front of me with a large wham. The heavy text sent clouds of dust up from the desk, and caused the jars on top to shudder, "Open it."

I gave Henry a perplexed look, before directing my confusion down to the leatherbound, black spellbook in front of me. The golden trim along the binding of the spellbook had flaked and faded from years of use. Stray scraps of notes poked out from the yellowed pages, allowing me to take a glimpse at what appeared to be recipes for poisons. I assumed poisons because most of the ingredients I saw: wyvern scales, newt's eyes, taguel toes; did not sound particularly appetizing or soothing.

I absently let the fingers on my right hand brush over the cracked, black, leather cover. A strange sensation buzzed over my fingertips. A feeling I could only describe as similar to static electricity. Like how cotton sheets feel after pulling them fresh out of the dryer. It was enough to make the hairs on my right arm stand on end, and more than enough sensation to cause me to hesitate in opening the book. The giddy smile on Henry's face only solidified my growing belief that I should carefully remove my hand from the cover, then push the book back towards him.

"I can't open this, can I?"

Henry snickered, "Yes, you are observant. Clearly you've been working on that." Henry snatched his spellbook back and stored it within his black robes once more, "You are correct. You wouldn't have been able to open it. Attempting to do so would've led to a most gory, painful, scream filled death for you."

I paled, "Lovely."

"I only want the best deaths for my friends." Henry hummed, "Miriel's spellbook likely operates under the same magical principle, though with less death, unfortunately. You see, Samwise, a mage's relationship with their spellbook is very personal. It is a direct reflection of a mage's mind, and their soul."

"Is that why yours is as black as coal, and looks like a complete disaster?"

Henry chuckled, "Of course! And since a spellbook is a direct reflection of the mage, it only opens for that mage, or for whoever that mage allows to open the spellbook. For instance, I'm certain Laurent could open Miriel's spellbook. He's her son, and she trusts him wholeheartedly. Now that you know this, you should know that Miriel would absolutely operate under the same principle with her notes. She guards her scientific discoveries like a wyvern guards a fresh kill. In order for us to get her notes, you need to get her notes to me so that I can neutralize the traps placed upon it. Do you understand?"

I nodded slowly, "So I can't just copy the notes without her knowing?"

"Nope. That'll go badly for you, and therefore badly for me."

A long groan left my lips, and I ran my hands over my face. Why do I always get dragged into these sort of shenanigans? Wasn't there some cutpurse or thief that could do this for Henry?

_Oh wait, that's technically me. Damn you, Gaius._

"Alright, I'll have to figure out how to get it without her looking, I assume?"

"Did you think I'd do all the work for you?" Henry chuckled, "I've given you all the information you should need, now you need to figure out how to fulfill your mission. This sort of thing is what you are trained to do, yes?"

"Yes." I grumbled back.

"Wonderful!" Henry rose from his seat, and I rose as well, "Oh, I'm so excited! You and I are working together, Samwise. Truly a huge improvement in our relationship."

_I guess? _I thought, choosing not to answer that one out loud.

"Oh, before you go."

Something cold and metallic wrapped around my right wrist. I yelped and recoiled, yanking my hand sharply back to find a golden bracelet latched around it. I frowned, then grabbed the bracelet with my left hand.

"Ah ah ah." Henry said, making me freeze as he wagged a finger at me, "I wouldn't do that."

"Why?" I asked, my anxiety rising once more.

"Because I need you to wear that. It's my way of magically keeping track of you."

He reached into his desk and pulled out a literal crystal ball. With a wave of his hand, dense, gray mist filled the crystal ball. A quiet mutter from Henry, and the mist cleared, showing the desk from the bracelet's perspective.

"This way, I'll be able to check on how you're doing." Henry beamed, "Also, it'll let me know if you get caught."

I glanced nervously at the bracelet, which bit into my wrist with an icy grip, "And what happens if I get caught?"

"Oh, you'll die. Loose end, remember?"

My face drained of all color, "Oh… right…"

"But don't worry. I wouldn't hold it against you for getting caught. The bracelet is enchanted so that, upon a command from me, you will suffer a most bloody, but painless death. The type of death I hope to achieve myself."

My entire body trembled as I looked down at the bracelet, "What kind of death is that?"

"You'll explode." Henry said with a giddy smile, "Pop like a fleshy balloon and paint the walls of whatever room you are in a lovely shade of crimson. Nyahahaha! Honestly, this place could use a new coat of paint, don't you agree?"

"N-no?"

"Huh, so you like drab colors then. How odd." Henry waved a hand dismissively, "The enchantment will also trigger if you take the bracelet off, so don't do that."

"N-noted." I whimpered.

"Splendid!" Henry let out a wistful sigh, "This feels just like the old days. Me getting a poor sod to do dirty work like this, with the threat of a spectacular death hanging over their heads… so nostalgic." He clapped his hands, and I jumped where I stood, "Go on, Samwise. You have a lot of work to do, and so do I. I look forward to receiving those notes."

My legs shuddered every step out of Henry's workshop. The snickering I heard behind me only made my entire body feel weaker with fear. I closed the door softly behind me, then slumped against the heavy wooden door. My head hit the door with a soft thunk, and I let out a groan.

"Why me?"

I began the long walk back up to the main level of the castle. Somehow I would have to get into Miriel's workshop, distract her (since she almost never leaves that place anyways), and steal her notes without her even noticing or missing them. Totally easy, right?

"I'm fucked." I muttered as I trudged up the stairs, "Completely fucked."

* * *

Ever since I arrived in this world, and began training under Gaius and Anna, I have done some questionable things. Most of those questionable actions involved me stealing sweets and pastries from the palace kitchen back in Ylisstol, then delivering the fruits of my labor to Gaius. Such unsavory deeds were his way of giving me hands-on training while making sure I wasn't in too much danger starting out. Of course, he never realized that the cook in the Palace Kitchens can really swing a rolling pin. Looking back, Gaius was right in forcing me to practice my sneaking by actually stealing, but that did not mean I was anymore comfortable with it now.

What made my current task even more uncomfortable was the terrible feeling that lingered in my gut as I approached Miriel's workshop, coincidentally (or maybe not?) located in the top floor of Castle Nixtas. The exact opposite location of Henry's workshop. I wasn't sure if that was entirely intentional, but the irony didn't escape me. It also made escaping with Miriel's notes problematic. After all, Castle Nixtas was designed as a fortress, not a palace. The windows were small and narrow. Meant for arrows to be fired out of rather than allow sunlight in. Which meant there was no way I could sneak out of the workshop through a window.

That left me with one way in, and one way out of Miriel's workshop. I huffed in front of her door, and glanced down at the golden bracelet on my wrist.

_Damn you, Henry._

I raised my hand to knock, only for the door to open before I could. Laruent blinked as I locked eyes with him.

"Oh, Samwise!" Laurent started, more than a little surprised to see me, "To what do I owe the pleasure? I don't recall my mother requesting your services today?"

_Great, now I need to get by both Laurent and Miriel. _I cringed internally.

"She uh- she didn't." I replied, doing everything I could to rein in my nervousness and instead put on a calm mask, "I decided to stop by for some extra lessons."

Laurent blinked, "Extra lessons? I didn't take you for the studious type. Then again, you have read through quite the impressive amount of volumes in the library."

I raised an eyebrow, "How do you know how many books I've gone through?"

"Morgan mentioned seeing you read _A Documented History of the Halidom Houses as gathered by Grand Sage Byron. _It's only logical for me to assume that you have already perused the usual reading material in order for you to engage in such a dense volume of history. Perhaps you are much more of an intellectual than I previously believed."

"Uh… thanks?"

"You're most welcome." Laurent nodded, "Now, unfortunately mother is not here. She is currently out at the markets gathering various herbs for concoctions and elixirs."

"Oh!" I replied, even as a small bit of static ran up from my wrist, through my arm, and into my neck. I suppressed a wince, then rushed to keep Laurent from turning me away. So long as Miriel was away, this would be my best shot to snatch her notes without her noticing, "Then perhaps you could help me out?"

Laurent brought a hand to his chin, "I could, but what do you wish to learn?"

"Well…" I honestly didn't think I would get this far. What did I want to learn from Laurent anyways? I could continue my instruction on plants and herbs, but he would likely tell me to wait for Miriel to return for that. After all, she was my primary teacher on such things. After a couple more seconds of thinking, I came up with an answer, "Actually, I was wondering if I could observe and assist you in your work. What better way to learn than on the job?"

"On the job?" Laurent hummed, his right hand rubbing his sharp chin, "I don't believe I am familiar with the term. Perhaps you mean the best way to learn any skill is by executing tasks involving that skill?"

"Er- yes?"

"Splendid then!" Laurent declared. He spun on his heel and waved for me to follow him into the workshop.

Miriel's workshop was truly a stark contrast to Henry's. It was brightly lit, with multiple candles burning on a pair of desks within the stone room, as well as four sconces burning (one on each wall), providing further light in the usually dark room. The lone, narrow window in the far wall, behind the desks, allowed faint sunlight to enter from the outside world. Like Henry's workshop, Miriel's had several bookshelves, but these were laden with volumes upon volumes of books. Each one pertaining to a different field of study or focus within the scientific or magical realm. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two workshops: there was no dead body lying in the middle of the floor.

_Thank God for that._

Laurent scurried around his desk, reaching into a drawer. He yanked several heavy volumes out of the drawer, while I lingered towards Miriel's desk, my eyes quickly scanning the objects on top of it. While most of the workshop was impeccably kept, Miriel's desk looked like a trainwreck. Books lay in haphazard piles on top of mounds of inkstained notepaper. Most of the notes had sloppy handwriting, borderline chicken-scratch. As if the notes were all hastily taken as the hand writing them could not keep up with the mind thinking of them. I did the best I could to quickly take in the content of the notes. Perhaps I could get a clue as to where the specific notebook Henry wanted was located.

I caught sight of the names 'Gules' and 'Sable' written on several scraps of loose paper, which immediately caught my interest. But before I could investigate those notes any further, Laurent's voice piped up, making me spin around to look at him.

"There! All of the materials we need for our research." Laurent stated as he heaved the last of five, enormous tomes onto his desk.

"Research?" I echoed.

"Of course. While mother is away gathering ingredients, it is my assignment to research anything and everything regarding the Fire Emblem."

I blinked, dumbstruck. Was I going to see Miriel's notes through Laurent?

"The Fire Emblem?"

"Quite." Laurent nodded. He glanced along the spines of the various volumes, his large hat bill nearly brushing against the cover of the top book. I gasped as he snatched a large, several hundred page long, book from the middle of the stack, and effortlessly tossed it to me.

"You can read through this one. Specifically pages 113- 230, if I recall correctly."

I glanced at the title of the book, "_The Mysteries of the Emblem: Facts and Myths?" _

"Indeed!" Laurent nodded, "I gave you the least mundane text to peruse. Also the easiest to decipher. I do not expect you to understand the more academic and analytical analysis contained with these other volumes." He finished with a pat of his hand on the rest of the books on his desk.

_Does he realize how passive-aggressive that sounded? _I thought.

"Uh… thanks, again?"

"You are most welcome, Samwise."

Without another word, Laurent flopped down into his chair, and cracked open the first of his many books. His slender hand snatched a quill from a jar of ink. As his studious eyes roved over the words within the book, his hand scratched frantic notes on the paper. I pursed my lips and glanced around the room for a place to sit.

"Do I-"

"You may sit in my mother's seat, of course." Laurent replied, eyes never leaving the book in front of him, "If you require ink and paper for notetaking, let me know. And yes, notes would very much be appreciated."

"Uh… okay." I moved around Miriel's desk and sank down into the chair.

My book hit the desk with a hard thud. I ran my right hand over the cover and grimaced.

I've never been very good at studying. In school, I did not enjoy studying, so I just didn't do it. Rarely did I crack open a textbook in order to study for a test (usually that was reserved for Spanish class, or a particularly difficult AP test). So to say I had poor study habits would be an enormous understatement. Laurent also only gave me one clue as to what I had to study. A broad clue at that. So would he be upset if I just started copying the book down word for word?

_Probably. _I puffed out a breath and opened the book, quickly flicking through the pages until I reached page 113. One glance at the text, and I already felt a headache forming, _Of course it reads like a textbook._

I blew out another long breath, pushed away from my chair, and got to my feet, taking the book with me as I rose.

"Can't study sitting down?" Laurent asked, his quill scratching along his paper.

"I'm a pacer." I replied with a slight laugh.

I furrowed my brow and started reading the first couple paragraphs. As I scanned the words, my brain ground to a halt. Reading history books, for me, was far more interesting than reading something like this. Besides, I couldn't sit down and attempt to enjoy this text. I had a job to do. And there was a constant buzzing reminder of that job on my wrist.

I grimaced as I felt more static run up my arm. Henry must be watching, or listening. Part of me wanted to believe that he was bluffing about his threat to blow me up if I got caught, or didn't go through with the job given to me.

But this is Henry we are talking about. This same man nearly slit my throat because he thought, without any evidence, without even knowing who I was, that I was attempting to date Noire. I could not afford to underestimate his insanity.

I glanced over to Laurent. Thankfully, he seemed consumed by his studies. Which meant I could covertly glance around hopefully without him noticing.

My pacing began at a leisurely pace, back and forth from one end of the room to the other. I did make sure to glance at the paragraphs in front of me so that I could tell Laurent relevant information in case he asked, but most of my attention was focused on the bookshelves. My eyes quickly scanned over the various titles, easily scratching books with titles along the spines off of the mental list. Miriel's personal notebooks would not have such things.

Seeing no notebooks on the shelves, I turned my attention back to Miriel's desk. Somehow, I would have to rifle through her things without Laurent noticing. How could I do that without attracting his attention?

_I need to get him to leave the room._

I sat down at the desk once more, and briefly glanced at the various items. My eyes landed on a collection of vials with liquids ranging from dark red, to clear, to vibrant blue.

_Wonder what those are? _

I peered a little closer at them, recognizing the blue one as a vulnerary. Or, what I thought was a vulnerary? Were vulneraries a clear color, or cloudy like this one? Usually when I needed to take one, it was because I was unconscious. It's not like I can remember the consistency or color.

_It could be a poison then. _I sucked in a sharp breath. My heart stopped in my chest as a plan so insane even Henry would be stunned by it formed in my mind.

I carefully set the book down, reached for the vial, and popped the cork from it. I winced as a small sound came from the cork as it fell to the papers on the desk, but Laurent didn't seem to notice. Some sweat formed on my brow as I gave the blue liquid an apprehensive look.

_Poisoning, or being blown up, Sam. Pick your death. _

Without any further hesitation, I downed the contents of the vial, grimacing as the slightly gelatinous liquid ran down my throat in one thick gob. Laurent must've heard my gasp and grimace, because he glanced up from his book and over to me right as I set the empty vial down.

"S-Samwise-"

"Hm?" I replied, wincing as the gob of blue gelatin hit my stomach.

Laurent pointed a shaky finger at the empty vial.

"Oh that? Well, I'm feeling a bit stiff from training and figured a vulnerary could help me focus a bit better." I lied.

Laurent's right hand trembled up to his spectacles. His fingers shook violently as he removed them from the bridge of his nose and wiped them off. He quickly replaced them, and peered at the vial once more, his face draining of all color upon a second glance.

_Oh no, what did I drink?_

"Y-you thought that was a… oh Naga." Laurent smacked his book closed and shot up from his seat.

I shook in my seat as Laurent rushed to the workshop door.

"Laurent, wait what did I just-"

"Those were a gift from Henry." Laurent interrupted before rushing out of the room, not even bothering to close the door behind him.

His footsteps echoed back into the room as Laurent sprinted away. I sat in my seat, petrified. My eyes shakily shifted towards the rack of vials.

_God damn you Henry!_

I jumped out of my seat, rushed to the door, and slammed it shut. I had no idea what I just ingested, but judging from Laurent's reaction, and the liquid's origins, it was not good. I probably required immediate medical attention. Which meant I had about five minutes before either Lissa or Maribelle burst through the door to tend to me.

_Five minutes to keep from going boom._

I grimaced as my stomach started to burn, and more panic filled me. Panic that I quickly suppressed with a deep breath. I need to focus. Needed to stay calm and collected. That was the only way I would be able to sift through the mess of notes on, and in, Miriel's desk efficiently.

_Quit thinking and hurry up, you moron!_

My feet scrambled back to Miriel's desk. I threw open the top drawer, unveiling a plethora of chicken scratch notes with penmanship that would make doctors' handwriting back home look legible. My fingers leafed through the notes, and found no notebooks in the first drawer. A loud curse shot from my lungs, followed by a harsh, dry cough as the burning sensation spread from my stomach to my chest.

I slammed the first drawer closed, then opened the second. When that was less than fruitful, I opened the third, then the fourth.

"Fuck!" I roared, slamming all of them closed at once.

_Think! Where would Miriel keep secret-_

I snapped my head over to Laurent's desk. If I were keeping secret knowledge in a notebook, I would never want it left alone. If Miriel did not keep it on her person at all times, then she would keep it where she knew someone would always be able to have an eye on it. Laurent was left behind at the workshop not because he needed to conduct further research, but to guard the research already conducted.

"Gah!" I cried as I lunged towards Laurent's desk, the strength in my legs giving way as I flew through the air.

The muscles in my legs felt like wet noodles: limp, useless. Nevertheless, I clawed my way up Laurent's chair, and flopped my body into it. Sweat poured down my head, neck, chest, and back as my body continued to heat up. My mouth felt as dry as sandpaper. My throat ached and burned with the rest of my body.

"Keep it together…" I yanked the first two drawers open, "Keep it togeth-"

I opened the third drawer, and found a stack of three notebooks. A loud whoop erupted from my mouth, followed by a series of harsh coughs. Something metallic bubbled into my mouth from my throat, and my eyes widened with panic.

_That's not good. _I looked wide eyed down at the notebooks as my vision blurred, _Which one is it?_

I reached for the first book in order to open it, then caught myself. Henry explicitly warned me against trying to open the notebooks. Miriel likely had them booby-trapped in some form or fashion. For all I knew, if I opened one notebook, I would be turned into a toad, or a rabbit, or some other manner of docile, easy to kill creature.

If I couldn't open the books to figure out which one was my objective, then I would have to figure out some other way. And I did not have much time to do so.

My mind raced. This was a notebook Miriel took with her to military meetings. Her going to these meetings were a recent development, which meant that she would use a newer notebook. Even though Miriel's personal notes looked disorganized, there had to be a method to her madness, and I got the feeling that, like any intellectual, she would want different notebooks for different topics. So she would use a newer notebook for notes on a more recent topic of study.

I tossed the top notebook out, as it had cracked leather and fraying pages from within. Most of the pages looked full of extra scraps of paper, meaning it was already chock full of notes. That left me with two notebooks to decide between.

Both looked brand new. The leather bindings and covers were flawless, soft, and smooth. I ran my hands over both of them, thick gobs of saliva building up in my mouth as the muscles in my jaw went slack.

_Which one is it? Please tell me I won't have to decide via Eenie Meenie Miney Mo._

A door slammed open in the corridor beyond the study. I had seconds, to decide, then put everything back in order. With a frustrated growl, I smacked both books hard, accidentally knocking them out of the drawer.

They both fell to the floor, but one had a note flutter out of its pages. A note with Laurent's handwriting.

_That one is Laurent's book. _I blinked.

With slowly numbing fingers, I clawed at both books, carefully replaced the note into the pages of Laurent's notebook, then shoved it and the first notebook back into the drawer.

_Now, to hide this-_

The doorknob turned, and I thought fast. Without thinking, I shoved the notebook down the backside of my pants, and laid flat on my back. A bad position, considering now I was gurgling my own bloody saliva.

The door opened.

"Naga, Samwise!" I heard Laurent cry from the doorway.

"Nyahahaha!" My eyes widened as I stared up the ceiling, "You could say the concoction really _floored_ the poor guy."

"We must do something quickly, Henry!" Laurent cried as he rushed over to me, rolling me over onto my side. Thankfully, he failed to notice the notebook sized bulge covering my ass.

"No need to worry, Laurent." Henry replied with a nonchalant wave of his hand as he sauntered up to Laurent. The evil sorcerer stared down at me with glee filled eyes, "I'll take him downstairs. I've got the ingredients to whip up an antidote in no time at all."

"Are you certain?" Laurent asked, "You told my mother that those were fast acting, death potions."

"Tay whab!?" I half blubbered, half gurgled as involuntary tears, a numb tongue, and a slack jaw slurred my speech.

"Shhh, don't talk." Henry said with a snicker.

Henry stooped down and hooked his hands beneath my shoulders. As he dragged me towards the door, Laurent fretted after him.

"Should I administer a Vulnerary?" Laurent asked, eyes wide with worry.

"No! That won't work. Vulnerary resistant potion." Henry clicked his tongue, "Nasty stuff."

"Hah!?" I exclaimed.

"Should I fetch Lady Maribelle and-"

"She won't be able to do any good, Laurent, trust me. I know my stuff when it comes to death, and only I can prevent this untimely one."

_I'm doomed._

Laurnet followed us all the way to the door that led to the stairs. At that point, Henry hefted me onto his back and waved off further worries from Laurent.

"Laurent, if you delay me any further, Samwise is going to drown in his own spit. Not a very dignified way to go, don't you agree?"

"I-I-I-" Laurent sputtered back.

I uttered a terrified groan, making Henry nod.

"I agree, Samwise. We better get moving. Go back to whatever you were doing, Laurent. I'll make sure Samwise doesn't die."

Before Laurent could respond, Henry slammed the door in his face. A flurry of snickers came from his lips as he hauled me down the stairs. I whimpered at him, and his snickers turned to cackles.

"Why Samwise, I told you not to worry. I'm not going to let you die. There are much funner ways to kill you than like this."  
I whimpered louder.

"I mean, there's so many other ways to kill you. I could blow you up, stab you to death, cook you from the inside out..."

And I whimpered all the way down to the basement.

* * *

I barely felt the glass bottle touch my lips, they were so incredibly numb and swollen from Henry's poison. I was stunned I could part them wide enough for Henry to administer the antidote. A rush of icy liquid hit my tongue, then ran down my throat, stealing the breath from my lungs.

"There we go!" Henry chirped, followed by a caw from Bill, "I know, I did a good job with that one. He should be able to talk again in three… two…"

"Fuck you!" I roared, air rushing back into my lungs as the saliva choking my throat started to recede.

"Nyahahahaha! Why Samwise, I had no idea you were interested." Henry cackled, completely disarming me of my fury and fear.

"Wha- what I-" I shook my head as I remained slumped in a chair in his workshop.

It took Henry little time to get me down to the basement. From there, he locked both of us in his workshop, propped me up in a chair, and whipped up an antidote for the poison in the blink of an eye. My vision was too blurry to make out what was in the antidote, but I had a feeling I would feel better if I didn't know.

As I fumbled with my words, a cold hand patted my still boiling cheek.

"There, there, Samwise." Henry said with his trademark smile, "You've been through quite the ordeal." One of his hands snaked around to my backside and slipped beneath my pants.

"Whoa! Whoa!"

Henry's grin widened as he snatched Miriel's notebook from my pants, "Clever hiding spot. How did you know Laurent would never look there?"

My mouth opened and closed, "I-I-"

"Eh, I suppose it doesn't matter. You did your job in the end so…" His free hand snatched my right wrist and removed the bracelet. As the cold metal left my skin, an enormous sense of relief washed over me. I sank into the chair's cold embrace as Henry spun away from me and strode to his desk.

_I'm not going boom, thank God._

"So," Henry rubbed his hands like a child eager to receive a toy, "Let's see what you brought me."

He set the notebook down on his desk, opened his own spellbook, and began to mutter some incantations. As he muttered, a blue glow formed over Miriel's spellbook, followed by a golden glow that made Henry's eyes widen with delight.

"Oh ho, Miriel, you naughty lady!"

"What?" I asked, my fury at Henry replaced by curiosity. I poisoned myself to get this book, so I for damn sure wanted to know what the big deal was regarding it.

Henry flicked his giddy blue eyes up at me, "I'm jealous of her work."

I paled, "I almost opened it."

Henry cackled back, "Oh, you would've become a nice, bubbly, red paste if you did."

"O-oh." I cleared my throat and took a tenuous step back from the notebook, "Good thing that didn't happen."

"Oh yes." Henry nodded in agreement, "Your blood would've stained her impressive work. That would've made it difficult to read."

Before I could respond with a snark filled comment, Henry finished one more incantation. The glow over the notebook faded away, and Henry's face lit up with child-like excitement.

"Such dangerous traps really make me wonder what lies within these pages." Henry breathed as he placed his hands on the cover, "What secret knowledge does she have? What plots are Tiki and Lissa coming up with?" A giddy noise slipped from his lips, and he glanced at me, "Ready to find out, my accomplice?"

I swallowed hard, "I don't suppose I have a choice?"

"Of course you do. You can either stay here and see, or die. Your choice really."

"Th-that's not a choice, that's an ultimatum!" I exclaimed.

"An ultimate choice." Henry contered, "Now, enough distracting me." He drew in a deep breath, and exhaled, "Time to learn."

He slowly peeled the cover to Miriel's notebook open. The first page was blank, save for a simple header that read 'Meeting Notes', in chicken-scratch handwriting. Henry quickly flipped to the next page. Before I could even finish the barely legible handwriting on that one, he turned to the next page. Then the next, and the next, until a frustrated growl came from his no longer smiling lips.

"What is this!?" He cried, his outrage causing me to take a nervous step back from him. Henry yanked the book from his desk and held it closer to his eyes, "Th-these are just… scribblings about Doluna! Why would she have notes about that city!?"

"D-Doluna?"

Henry snarled and smacked the notebook shut, "Plegia's old capitol. Before Grima destroyed my home." Fear filled me as a frown sat on his lips instead of a smile. A non-smiling Henry was an unpredictable Henry, and that was a terrifying thing to realize, "It's nothing but Risen riddled wastes anymore, so why would she-"

A heavy fist hammered against Henry's door, snapping the sorcerer's mouth closed and making me freeze where I stood.

"Herny, in the name of Naga, if you do not open this door in the next five seconds I will make your death the most painful, least bloody one possible!" I heard Frederick bellow from the otherside.

Henry hissed and looked at me. Before either of us could do anything else, Henry's door burst inward as Frederick kicked it open. Wood splintered and cracked from the sharp, strong blow, making both me and Henry jumped where we stood. Frederick stormed in, along with Lissa, Tiki, Miriel, Laurent, and… and Anna.

_Oh I'm dead._

A heavy object hit me in the chest, then fell to the floor as I failed to catch Miriel's notebook.

"Samwise did it!" Henry cried, pointing a finger at me.

"I did- I did-" Anna and Tiki's gazes narrowed at me, and I felt terrified, "I did a thing, yes. But that maniac told me to do it!"

"He thinks flattery will make me take the blame for him! But he is wrong!" Henry declared vehemently, "He-"

"Henry," Miriel frowned back, "Please cease your deflecting before you infuriate-"

"You both have really gone and done it." Frederick snarled, cutting off Miriel as anger radiated in waves from the Knight-Commander. His face was red, and his eyes were narrowed at both me and Henry, "You stole secret intelligence regarding our plans for the war against Grima. Then you proceeded to read it!?"

"He read it." Henry muttered, jabbing a thumb at me.

"So did you!" I shot back.

"Shut up, Sam!" Anna snapped, making me go rigid where I stood.

"Well!?" Frederick folded his hands behind his back. He paced back and forth in front of me and Henry. No doubt contemplating various terrible punishments for both of us, "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Henry said nothing. I couldn't figure out what to say either. And Bill cawed on his perch.

"Nothing?" Frederick straightened to his full height, "Very well then. I suppose we need to resort to more drastic measures."

He reached towards his sword, but Lissa snapped her hand out, stopping him.

"Samwise, were you coerced into stealing those notes by Henry?"

I raised an eyebrow. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Henry glaring over at me. A glare that told me if I said a single word, I'd be dead. But if I didn't say anything, I'd probably be dead too. Anna's eyes bored holes into me, and that was enough for me to choose my side.

"He said we were just borrowing." I answered, causing a long, despondent groan to come from Henry as he bowed his head, "We had no intention of keeping those notes."

"I told you Frederick." Anna muttered, folding her arms, "Samwise doesn't have the balls to-"

"He does, since he actually went through with it." Frederick interrupted.

"He swallowed one of Henry's poisons in order to get Laurent to leave the room." Miriel adjusted her glasses on her nose, "If I were to be honest, if Laurent hadn't noticed one of his desk drawers was ajar, these two would have likely gotten away with their mad scheme." Miriel stepped towards me, her eyes glancing at me with curiosity rather than anger, "Tell me, Master Samwise, how did Henry manage to gain your allegiance?"

I gulped, "A bracelet."

"He bribed you?" Lissa replied, one brow raised in disbelief.

"Ah yes. An enchanted bracelet." Miriel nodded, "I assume it would have caused devastating and deadly consequences if you failed to accomplish the task you were given?"

I nodded.

"Very well then." Miriel continued, "You are not guilty in my eyes. However, I am curious as to why you decided to go through with such subversive activities, Henry?"  
"I'd like to know as well." Tiki hummed, her green eyes watching Henry carefully. No doubt her increased suspicion of him was due to Tharja's shocking betrayal.

A heavy breath left Henry's lips. In an instant, he didn't look like a youthful, cunning, conniving dark mage. Instead, he looked like a weary man. He slumped down into his chair, hands shadowing his eyes as he bowed his head and looked down at his desk.

"I felt left out." He muttered.

"Y-you felt left out!?" Frederick declared incredulously.

"Yes!" Henry snapped back, a dangerous fury entering his blue eyes. Fury held in check only due to the presence of Tiki within the room. I saw him glance at Tiki, before carefully reining in his emotions so that the powerful Manakete would not pounce on him, "Miriel and I have been conducting similar research on the Emblem, and the gemstones, for years now. I thought we would make a breakthrough together. Then out of nowhere, she's being asked to your little secret meetings, and I'm left out. Therefore, it was safe for me to assume that she uncovered some knowledge I lacked. Some research I had yet to discover. Forgive me for wanting to know more."

"The contents of those notes are of the utmost secrecy, Henry!" Frederick snarled as he leaned over his desk, brown eyes giving Henry an unyielding stare, "Do you have any idea how much danger we would have been in if someone other than you or Samwise got their hands on those notes?"

Bill cawed then flew to Henry. The crow landed on Henry's left shoulder, its black beak gently nibbling at Henry's left ear as it perched.

"Well, no one did so… no harm, no _fowl_." Henry's serious mask brough, and his mad cackling returned.

Frederick's shoulders dropped. A long groan left his lips, making Henry laugh even louder.

"This time." Frederick grumbled. He pushed away from the desk, his furious glare turning to me, "As for you, Samwise-"

"If I may interrupt." Anna butted in, stepping around Tiki so that she could walk over and stand beside me, "I think this entire situation actually revealed something positive."

"That being?" Frederick asked, his frown unwavering.

Lissa gasped behind him, "You don't really mean to say-"

"Sam has proven himself to be more than capable. I mean, he managed to sneak top secret intelligence out of Miriel's workshop, not just through typical thieving measures, but through manipulation and cunning, albeit a bit flawed."

"Anna what are you-"

"Shut up, Sam." Anna hissed out of the corner of her mouth. She cleared her throat, "He also managed to perform exceptionally well under high duress. Therefore, I recommend Sam for the role of burglar in the upcoming mission."

My heart stopped pounding in my chest, "I'm sorry, what?"

"That way, I can get going to Ylisstol, and you all can continue fighting this hopeless war." Anna continued, "It's a win-win for both of us."

Silence hung heavy in the air in response. Frederick looked about ready to enter a very heated argument with Anna. Henry continued to quietly snicker off to the side as Bill cawed on his shoulder. Tiki folded her hands in front of her in a serene gesture, but a frown betrayed how she really felt about Anna's idea. Miriel appeared mostly indifferent, instead she was more focused on observing some of Henry's curiosities rather than paying attention to the conversation. Finally, Lissa's brow furrowed as she hummed to herself, deep in thought.

"Are you sure, Anna?"

Frederick looked aghast, "L-Lady Exalt, surely you cannot be-"

"I'm…" Anna drew in a deep breath, "I'm certain. Samwise stayed far more level headed given the situation he was placed in than I would have. Besides, he's quieter than me and can be surprisingly light on his feet when needed. He won't be alone on the mission anyways. Lon'qu, Donnel, and-"

"And me." Tiki interrupted, "I'll be going as well."

Frederick and Lissa both paled. Anna's next words got lost in her throat as she stared wide eyed at the Manakete.

"I will be going with the expedition to Doluna." Tiki reiterated, her tone strong and unwavering. A signal that she would not be swayed from this course of action.

Anna's jaw clenched tight. Her hands balled up into tight fists by her side as she stood next to me.

"R-right." Anna growled, "Tiki will be with him too." She swallowed hard, "So long as you all don't get into too much trouble, the mission should go well."

Lissa bit her lip, "It could use more planning."

"Which we will get done tomorrow morning." Tiki stated, "For now, let us all forget this incident ever took place."

"What incident?" Both Miriel and Henry asked.

"Exactly." Tiki replied with a mildly amused smile, "Herny, I'll require you to assist Miriel in making potent elixirs and vulneraries. We will need them."

"B-but- but they stole intelligence!" Frederick exclaimed.

"We're past that now, Freddy." Lissa sighed, "The news that we were planning a covert mission to Doluna was bound to get out sooner rather than later." She glanced at Anna, "Since Samwise will be taking your place, I'll trust you to fill him in."

Without another word, the Exalt turned and left the workshop. Miriel and Henry followed. Frederick stood still, dumbstruck, until Lissa called for him, jolting the knight out of his stupified state. Only myself, Anna, and Tiki remained in the workshop. Tiki gave Anna a worried look, then turned to leave.

"Hold it right there." Anna growled, making Tiki stop in her tracks.

Anna marched up to Tiki, grabbed her by the shoulder, and spun her around.

"What the hell are you thinking?"

Tiki drew in a deep breath, "I'm thinking that while Samwise may be capable at sneaking into places, he has not shown your aptitude for sneaking back out unscathed. He will need strong backup, which I can provide."

"You will be like a damned beacon to Grima if you go to Doluna!" Anna exclaimed.

"Not if I keep my power suppressed."

"Then you will hardly be back up for Sam!"

"And why do you care so much?" Tiki asked, making Anna jerk back from her, "I thought you were quite done with me."

"I- you-" Anna drew in a sharp breath, stepped back, then exhaled, "Come, Sam. We're getting out of here."

"We are?"

"We are!"

I jumped at Anna's sharp tone. Tiki uttered a weary sigh as both of us slipped past her and exited Henry's workshop. Anna marched at a swift pace down the dark hall, up the stairs, and out of the castle. I struggled to keep up with her as my mind reeled, trying to catch up with everything that just happened.

As we neared the barracks, I mustered up the courage to speak to Anna again.

"What exactly did you just sign me up for?" I asked, making her spin around and glare at me angrily.

"The most dangerous mission possible of course." Anna growled.

She turned and marched to the barracks door. She yanked the door open and marched inside, ignoring some quiet greetings from a frowning Lucina, a frowning Severa, and a teary-eyed Morgan as she stormed through the common room. I rushed after Anna, briefly pausing next to the other three Shepherds in order to apologize for interrupting what looked to be a pretty serious conversation.

I pushed those three to the back of my mind as I raced after Anna. I managed to catch the door to the woman's bunkroom with my boot before she could close it. With a growl, Anna surged away from the door and stormed to the bunkroom window, keeping her back to me as I quietly entered the room.

The door shut with a soft click, and Anna bowed her head.

"Anna?" I began, deciding to stay near the door so that she could have a bit of space, "What's going on?"

I heard her sniffle as her head remained bowed. Her red hair shifted as she shook her head, then looked up out the window. In the foggy reflection of the frosted glass, I could see faint tears going down her cheeks.

"Sam, please make sure she makes it out safe."

A pit formed in my stomach. Anna never cries. The only time I ever saw her cry was when she was about to be tortured in Port Ferox. Those were tears of frustration and despair rather than terror and sadness. What exactly was I about to do in Doluna?  
"Anna?"

She let out a shaky breath, reached up, and quickly wiped at the tears she thought I hadn't seen yet. After taking one more deep breath, she turned and looked at me.

"You'll be going to Doluna with Lon'qu, Donnel, and Tiki." She swallowed hard, "In order to steal the last Emblem Gem from right under Grima's nose."

My stomach dropped, "S-steal?"

"Yes." Anna nodded, "That's how we are going to win this war." She looked out the window again, her voice involuntarily shaking as she kept her back to me, "You're going to steal Sable."

**And chapter! Let the heist begin! I've been planning this one out for a while now, and I am so beyond excited to write these next few chapters! AAaaah, they're going to be so much fun! Also, writing Henry as an unhinged maniac is always a joy to do, so I had a lot of fun with this chapter!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

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	27. Stowaways on a Stealth Mission

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 26

Stowaways on a Stealth Mission

The plan was simple, while at the same time completely insane, dangerous, and borderline suicidal. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and from little I gathered, this was the latest last ditch attempt by the living to defeat Grima's Hordes. Once I was inserted into this mad scheme, I attended the daily secret meetings held by Lissa, Tiki, Frederick, Anna, and Miriel (Henry was still not invited, and Tiki specifically asked Noire to help rein in her father's erratic tendencies on the matter). In these meetings, the final details of the plan were hashed out.

In the end, it was determined that since I would be taking Anna's role in the scheme, I would completely embody her role. I was to take the part of a merchant wandering the wild; with Lon'qu, Donnel, and a disguised Tiki, acting as my helpers and bodyguards. I would be given a cart, a full supply of merchant goods to "sell", and a horse to pull the cart along. Our travel would likely be slower due to this ruse, but it also lessened our chances of arousing suspicion from any of Grima's spies, or the general populace beyond the walls of Nixtas. This mission must remain of the utmost secrecy. Once we left, there would be no turning back.

Which is why butterflies made of stone were fluttering in my stomach at the moment. Today was the day. The day I would set out on a mission that I was technically in charge of, since I would be the face anyone in the surrounding countryside would interact with. I drew in a deep breath as I stood in front of the mirror in the men's bunkroom, observing the new outfit given to me by the Shepherds.

It wasn't anything special, but considering my old outfit was pretty much torn to shreds after Arena Ferox, it made sense to get a new one. It consisted of dark brown pants with several pockets in order to store stuff in, a leather belt laden with pouches, a black long sleeved shirt, a dark leather jerkin (the one Noire made for me once I was inducted into the Shepherds officially) which served as my only source of armor for this mission, leather boots, and a black hooded cloak. My daggers were in their spots: long one strapped to the back of my belt, short one on my left hip. My right hand patted my kukri's scabbard on my right hip. The soldier, the scout, ready for action.

A shuddering breath escaped my lungs. A couple weeks of recovery, another solid two weeks of training for this mission, and I looked leaps and bounds better than I had when I woke up after Arena Ferox. My face had more color, if you could see past the dense scruff now built up on my face. I filled out my outfit much more than I would have a month ago, showing that I was no longer as malnourished or scrawny. I was still ridiculously skinny, but both Donnel and Anna made sure my training put muscle on me as quickly as possible so I could handle the mission given to me.

I rolled my shoulders, then quickly patted down the various pouches on my belt, as well as my pockets.

_Spare vulneraries… check. Herbs to make vulneraries on the fly… check. Lockpicks… check. _

I nodded. Everything was accounted for. The rest of the things I would need would be in the cart. So, with a final anxious nod, I turned away from the mirror, and saw Anna leaning against the doorframe.

"Checking yourself out?" She asked, smirking a little bit.

I drew back, then glanced down at my outfit, "Kinda have to. This one doesn't have any tears for a change."

That made Anna snort, "Well, if you're done admiring yourself, the others are waiting."

I gulped, "Already?"

"Yeah, well, there is a mission start time." Anna remarked with a roll of her eyes, "Dawn, remember?"

I glanced at the window. Sure enough, the sun peeked over the horizon. It was a dull, pale sunrise. The kind I was very familiar with after living for a few years in Northeast Wisconsin. A winter sun, which ushered in no heat, but only made the cold a little more tolerable. Time to begin.

"Okay." I exhaled, "Lead the way."

Anna nodded, and I followed her out of the bunkroom. We both quietly descended the stairs and entered the main common room. Since this mission was of the utmost secrecy, there would be no send off from the army or the other Shepherds. The kids all snoozed away in their bunks, blissfully unaware of the danger I was about to get into. So there were no kind, encouraging faces waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Only a cold fireplace, and a dim common room.

"They'll be clearing out of Nixtas soon." Anna mentioned as she walked alongside me towards the door, "So, when you're finished with this mission, make sure you go to Ylisstol and not here. The road to Ylisstol will be safer than the road here."

"Of course I gotta take the dangerous road first." I replied with a nervous gulp.

Anna paused as she reached for the door. A long breath exhaled through her nose, and she retracted her hand.

"You sure you can't tag along Anna?" I asked.

Anna bit her lip, then grimaced. A shake of her head was the only answer she gave me. Without a word, she yanked the door open and stepped out into the Castle yard, with me following close behind her.

The cart was not located in the castle yard. Instead, it was at the castle stables, which rested just beyond the main castle walls. As Anna and I strode towards the castle gate, our boots crunching in fresh snow, I could feel my anxiety growing.

How in the world was I supposed to lead this mission? I know I'm not technically in charge, that distinction belongs to Tiki. But this was the first mission that I will have an integral part in, the first one where my input and knowledge would be relied upon first and foremost. I couldn't help but feel woefully unprepared for such responsibility. Even though Anna, and Gaius, had trained me for the past few months, even though I had survived several terrifying battles and encounters, I couldn't help but have a really bad feeling settle in my gut.

Anna must have detected my nervousness, because she ground to a halt in front of the gate. She glanced around the gatehouse, making sure no guards were listening in, before grabbing me by my shoulder and pulling me closer.

"Sam," She whispered, "You gotta keep that head of yours on straight, you hear me? You can't zone out on this one, and you can't afford to let fear make judgements for you. There is… there is way too much at stake on this mission."

"Why do you think I'm this nervous?" I replied, my voice a bit higher in pitch as I struggled to remain calm.

"Hey, look at me." Anna hissed, drawing my attention directly to her, "I wouldn't have recommended you for this mission if I didn't think you could do it."

My eyes widened, "R-really?"

"For Naga's sake, Sam, you managed to steal something from me. _Me! _And that was when you barely began training under Gaius. You've got talent for this sort of work, even if you are a panicky mess most of the time. Just keep what Gaius and I have taught you in mind and you'll make it through this."

I remained unconvinced. It was one thing to steal from Anna, which in and of itself is a difficult and terrifying task that I barely managed to pull off. It is something else to steal from the Fell Dragon. Not only did I have to steal from him, I had to steal a Gemstone from his home.

_Would he consider Doluna his home? Or is it just some sort of informal dwelling? Cave? Burrow? What would a dragon home be called?  
_"Hey." Anna snapped her fingers, but her voice remained quiet in the cold air between us, "You still with me?"

"Barely." I muttered back.

Anna huffed, "You're going to be fine. Besides, you've got Lon'qu, Donnel, and Tiki backing you up. I dare any Risen to try and take those three down."

Anna folded her arms and flicked her eyes to the cart beyond the castle gate. Lon'qu, Tiki, and Donnel were already there, loading it up with typical merchant wares. Some of the wares were from Anna's own cart, since she was trying to clear out her inventory before leaving the continent. Mentally, I started counting the sacks of potatoes Lon'qu and Donnel were throwing into the cart, but then Anna cleared her throat, distracting me from that task. We both continued our quiet march to the cart as Anna spoke.

"Sam."

"Yeah?"

Anna bit her lip, "Look," She tucked her chin, "Tiki and I may be less than friendly anymore, but…" She exhaled, "She's very important to the army, and to our efforts against Grima. The original plan did not involve her, and she's not the sneakiest individual so just... keep her safe, okay?"

We both paused next to the front of the cart. The horse that would pull the cart, a large, shaggy, black steed named Harold, snorted as I approached. I brushed my hand along it's left flank, patted its hairy body, then nodded back to Anna.

"I'll do my best."

"Hey, Samwise!" Donnel barked as he trudged up from the back of the cart, " 'Bout time ya showed up. Looking ever like a merchant too."

"Thanks." I replied as the rugged knight jumped up into the cart's passenger seat.

"Lon'qu and Tiki are in the back, ready to go. Everything's all loaded up and," Donnel yanked a piece of paper from his pocket, "This is your inventory list."

"Inventory list?"

Anna snickered, "Being a merchant means keeping track of your stuff, Sam."

"O-oh, right."

"Ah crap," Donnel stepped into the back of the cart as I heard him mutter something about triple checking emergency supplies. Leaving Anna and I alone one more time.

I quietly stepped up onto the cart, taking my spot on the driver's side. As I set the reins in my lap, Anna stepped alongside me.

"You sure you know how to drive this thing?" Anna asked.

"Uh… it seems simple enough, so yeah." I remarked, uncertainty thick in my voice.

Anna rolled her eyes, "If you say so." She pursed her lips, "You stay safe too, alright Sam?"

"Yeah."

"We're ready back here, Samwise." Tiki called from the back of the cart.

Anna scowled at the sound of her voice, but I could also see her hand drift to her pocket, grasping something circular. I drew in a deep breath, trying to quell my nerves and make the twisting in my gut go away. One of my legs bounced as I sat in my seat.

"Guess this is it."

Anna nodded, "It is."

I swallowed hard, "I'm guessing you'll be gone by the time we get back?"

Anna put a finger to her chin, "Oh, I don't know. The ship Lissa found is taking its sweet time getting prepared for a voyage. The captain is pretty hesitant to sail east into unknown waters, and I don't blame him for that. So, when you get back to Ylisstol-"

"If I get back." I snorted back.

"_When_," Anna retorted, "you get back, maybe you'll catch me in Ylisstol's markets. I've got some inventory to shed still." She smiled a little, "I look forward to buying you a pint in celebration."

A small smile crossed my lips as well, "Yeah, that'll be nice."

"We going yet, Samwise?" Donnel barked from the back.

I sagged in my seat as Anna chuckled quietly, "Oh, this is going to be like every other roadtrip in my life. Stressful, and with a middle aged man yelling at me the entire way."

Anna stepped back from the cart, "Good luck, Samuel Wheeler."

She spun on her heel and marched away, head bowed as a frozen wind whipped through Nixtas. I shivered as winter's frozen fingers brushed along my neck and face. A shaky breath left my lungs as I looked to the castle and saw Anna disappear through the gate, moving out of sight, and now she had to be out of mind. Anna was not going to be here to guide me along in this mission, or to make sure I didn't completely screw this up. I needed to succeed on my own now, with the help of some ridiculously skilled fighters at my back.

"Perhaps I'm not completely screwed after all."

Harold the Horse snorted and tossed it's head in front of me. I frowned.

"Yeah, you're right." I grasped the reins and snapped them, causing Harold, and the cart, to rumble away from the Castle Nixtas, "We're not screwed. We're fucked."

* * *

The cart rumbled along through the countryside, wooden wheels churning through the hard, frozen soil of Northern Ylisse with little effort, and a lot of rough bumps. A perpetual gray sky sat overhead as the first day of the journey dragged on. I remained in my seat, driving the cart, bored out of my mind, and terrified about the future.

The other three remained fairly quiet in the cart behind me. I could hear soft snores, which meant Tiki was probably asleep. Lon'qu was just a quiet person in general. I don't think the man has ever said a single word to me, now that I think about it. Was his primary form of communication glares and grunts? Whatever it was, he got the messages he wanted across. Everyone clearly understood and respected the silent swordsman. Donnel's silence puzzled me a little bit, but considering Lon'qu was not the conversational type, and Tiki was asleep; I shouldn't be too surprised that he wasn't chatting much. He was well aware of my own troubles with small talk, and he probably wanted me focused on the mission instead of on idle chit chat.

Speaking of the mission, as the hours dragged on, I couldn't help but linger on the insanity of this entire quest. Me, a barely trained scout and thief, would be helping three exceptionally skilled warriors break into the heart of enemy territory so we can steal a gemstone.

Sable had long been suspected to be within the clutches of Plegia, then Grima after Plegia was destroyed by the Fell Dragon's sudden rise. Miriel and Henry were both able to deduce, through hours of grueling research, that Sable was indeed within the realm of Plegia. From that alone, it was safe to assume that such a valuable trinket would be kept under the watchful eye of Grima himself. The gemstone was a part of the Fire Emblem, and without it the Shepherds would be unable to figure out a way to permanently defeat Grima. Now that four of the five gemstones were in our hands, all that was left to possibly defeat the Fell Dragon was to recover the final one, put it in the Emblem, and eventually… something is supposed to happen. Honestly, my knowledge of the game's events regarding the completed Fire Emblem were vague at best, given how long it had been since I actually played it.

This mission just seemed so impossible. For one, we would have to traverse the entire breadth of Ylisse without arousing any suspicion from friends or potential foes. A very difficult task given that we had Naga's daughter sleeping in the backseat. Myself, Donnel, and Lon'qu could easily pass ourselves off as traveling merchants and hired bodyguards. Donnel already looked the part of a mercenary, with the gruff demeanor, mean look on his face, and general scruffiness to his entire appearance. And hanging around Anna as much as I have has lent itself to picking up a few tricks of the trade. Not nearly enough to pass myself off as an extremely good merchant, but enough to keep up the illusion that I am one.

But what happens when I actually have to play the part? That question had been dogging my thoughts all day, ever since we left Nixtas. I always felt like I was never good at performing under pressure. Then again, I've been in plenty of high pressure situations recently; what with nearly dying at Arena Ferox… and Port Ferox… and out in the wilds north of Nixtas…

_Maybe Anna is right. Maybe I can handle this. _Harold the Horse snorted and I snorted too, _The horse isn't even convinced._

I leaned back in my seat, kicking one foot upon the railing in front of me. Not the most comfortable of positions, but it is very difficult to find a comfy spot on a frozen, wooden bench. My jaw worked back and forth as I bounced the parameters of the mission through my mind once more.

The journey to Doluna, the old Plegian Capital, would take a week and a half, so long as we were not waylaid by any unfortunate events along the way. Events such as bandit ambushes, risen attacks, or even a broken cart wheel would delay the journey. So, just to be safe, I gave us two weeks to make it to Doluna. Once we arrived on the outskirts of Grima's city, we would have to leave the cart (under guard of course), then the remaining members of our party would infiltrate the city and proceed to the castle vault (where Sable was likely stored). If it was not stored there, then- if we were able- we were to search the remainder of the old Plegian royal palace for any sign of Sable. Once the gemstone was recovered, or determined to not be within Doluna, we were to retreat back to Ylisstol without so much as alerting a single Risen that we were even within the city.

I doubted we would manage to accomplish the latter. In my mind, the old adage: "Expect the best, but prepare for the worst" rang like a constant reminder that any plan crumbles once put into action. In all likelihood, we would have to fight our way out of Doluna once we managed to get in and steal Sable.

Then there was the matter of Sable itself. Grima had to have it under the highest security possible, if it was even in Doluna and not directly by his side at all times. That's what unnerved me the most: the uncertainty surrounding this mission. There were so many what-ifs at play, so many unknown variables that could jeopardize not just the mission, but our chances at survival.

What if Sable wasn't in the city? What then? If we have to fight our way out, and we fail to recover Sable, then Grima will know what we were attempting to do, and any chance at stealing Sable from him will be permanently gone. To me, this mission seemed like an extremely risky gamble.

But, it's the only move the living had left on the board. After sitting in on more military meetings over the past few weeks, I came to the conclusion that Grima really had boxed the Ylissean and Feroxi armies into an impossible corner. Without Sable, we were beaten, and Grima knew that. This entire time, Grima has been toying with his enemy. The Fell Dragon, playing with his food, like a psychotic child torturing a doomed colony of ants. I shuddered at that analogy.

_Are we as powerless as the ants?_

A grunt behind me dragged me from my thoughts. Donnel crawled out from the back of the cart, and clambered into the passenger seat beside me. He drew in a deep breath of the cold, northern Ylisse air, then puffed out a long breath.

"You alright up here?" He asked.

I arched an eyebrow, "Uh… yeah?"

Donnel nodded his head, "Good." His hand rested in his lap. He sniffled and spat off to the side of the cart while I continued watching our path ahead in awkward silence, "So… how's driving the cart?"

"Um… it's good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Another long, awkward pause passed between us. Before Donnel could open his mouth to say another word, the canvass flap behind us fluttered.

"You both are painful to listen to." Lon'qu grunted.

I jumped in my seat, and snapped my head back, "Oh my God, he speaks!"

Donnel threw his head back, laughing loudly as Lon'qu frowned at me. I couldn't help but chuckle along with Donnel, undeterred by Lon'qu's glare as the swordsman propped himself up so he could join in on our conversation.

"So, Samwise, you and I have not spoken much."

"We haven't spoken at all." I replied.

Meanwhile, Donnel lounged back in his seat, one hand resting on the backrest as he glanced back at Lon'qu.

"Tiki still asleep back there?" He asked Lon'qu.

Lon'qu nodded, "She feels drained for some reason. Haven't bothered to ask her why."

"I'd be surprised if you did." Donnel remarked.

"Why's that?" I wondered out loud.

"Because Lon'qu can't talk to women." Donnel said, a laugh in his voice as an embarrassed expression washed over Lon'qu's tanned face, "He even has a hard time talking to Lissa. Although, I bet that's remedied a bit in the bedchamber, eh?"

"Say another word about that and I'll cut your tongue out, farmer." Lon'qu frowned.

Donnel simply laughed back, "Relax, Lon. We're just three guys enjoying a road trip-"

"To hell." I cut in.

"Maybe." Donnel admitted with a slight bob of his head, "But we need to try and keep our spirits a little up. If the objective of this mission doesn't drag us down, the damned weather will." He shivered, "Damn it's cold."

"It's not too bad." Lon'qu grunted.

"Say's you. Ya lived in Ferox for how long?"

"Not as long as you would think." Lon'qu replied, "But long enough."

"Vague answer there. You'd be a good martial arts master. Mysterious proverbs and vague, sagely advice seems to be your specialty." I snickered as I kicked my other foot up onto the railing and fully embraced the uncomfortable wooden bench. Even going so far as to rest my head on top of the backrest.

Donnel chuckled next to me, giving me a light, approving tap on my shoulder. Lon'qu simply closed his eyes and huffed.

"I'm beginning to think Tiki has the right idea for this journey."

"I have the-" Tiki poked her head out next to Lon'qu, making the swordsman freeze in place. A long yawn kept Tiki from speaking for a moment, before she smacked her lips sleepily, and looked at me and Donnel with half lidded eyes, "What's my idea?"

"I don't know. What is it Lon?" Donnel asked, a teasing grin on his face.

Lon'qu's mouth opened and closed rapidly. His face turned ghost white as Tiki glanced sleepily at him. With a quiet snarl, he retreated back into the cart, causing Donnel to howl with laughter, me to snicker quietly, and Tiki to grow puzzled.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Donnel kept chuckling as he reached for the waterskin on his belt. He took a long gulp, then answered Tiki.

"To us, no. To Lon, you've committed the greatest faux-pas."

"You know what that word means?" I teased.

"Shut it, kid." Donnel snapped back, "I may have grown up among simple folk, but I've lived around Maribelle to pick up a few words." I gave him an unconvinced look, and he sighed, "Fine, what does it mean, Samwise?"

This time, Tiki laughed along with me.

"Faux-pas is a social offence." I replied, "Like commenting about a woman's age to her face."

"Good rule to live by, don't do that." Tiki nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Mari's parasol taught me that lesson once." Donnel said with a shiver, "Ain't gonna make that mistake again."

"Mhmm." I nodded, "So how was your nap, Lady Tiki?"

Tiki gave me a gentle smile, "Just Tiki is fine, Samwise. And it was… not enough, but something caught my attention and I felt I should ask you about it, since you have the inventory list."

I arched an eyebrow, "Fire away."

Tiki tilted her head, "Fire away?"

"Figure of speech, dragon lady." Donnel replied with a gruff grunt.

Tiki smacked his shoulder, making Donnel freeze, stiff as a board. I laughed a little as a brief wave of terror washed over Donnel, before disappearing as quickly as it arrived.

"My bad." Donnel muttered as he scratched his stubble lined chin.

Tiki smirked back, "To reply to you, Samwise: Do we have lavender in our inventory?"

I drew back from her, "Lavender?" She nodded and I furrowed my brow, thinking for a moment, "I'm not sure."

I dug into my pocket and withdrew the crumpled up, folded piece of paper that outlined the cart's inventory. Upon seeing the state of the paper, Donnel sighed and Tiki tsked.

"You're seriously keeping that important piece of paper like that?" Donnel asked.

"Yes." Donnel's frown deepened, "Perhaps you would like me to frame it and hang it up on the canvas wall?" I snarked, drawing a surprised look from Donnel as I didn't quiver beneath his usual criticism.

Tiki laughed under her breath at Donnel's dumbfounded expression. I ignored Donnel's grumbling reply as I scanned the items on the inventory.

_Plenty of jarred soup, jelly and jams, pickled stuff, horse feed, clothing, a few medical stuff, our emergency supplies… no lavender._

I shook my head, "No lavender, Tiki."

"Strange." Tiki replied, her ears twitching, "I swore I smelled it."

"Were ya dreaming of someone wearing lavender perfume?" Donnel asked with a suggestive hint in his voice.

Tiki smirked back, "Why Donnel, it sounds to me as if you are suggesting I would dream of such things. I'll let you ponder that mystery yourself." She drew in a breath, then exhaled, "And no, I know I smelled lavender in the cart. Perhaps one of you is wearing it? Or was Maribelle or Lissa wearing such perfume before we left?"

Donnel shook his head, "Mari was asleep when I left. Lon?"

A grunt in reply, and Donnel nodded.

"Same for him."

Tiki frowned, "Strange. I can still smell it."

I pursed my lips, puzzled by the mystery as well. I was not one to doubt Tiki's senses, like Donnel seemed to be doing. Anna made sure to point out to me once that Tiki's senses were far stronger than a normal human's, since she was a Manakete and a very powerful one at that. If she smelled something strange, then there was likely something strange in the cart.

_Why would she smell lavender per… fume._

I yanked on the reins, jerking Donnel forward as the cart ground to a halt. Harold stamped a hoof, peeved by the sudden stop, but I didn't care.

"What the hell, Samwise?" Donnel cried as he caught himself against the railing in front of us.

I raised a hand, silencing him. Tiki raised her brow at my actions.

"Is something the matter?" She asked.

"Lon!" I called, "How many sacks of potatoes do we have back there?"

I heard some brief shuffling around behind me.

"Five." He grunted back.

My eyes shot back down to the inventory list. I found potatoes listed… with the number 2 marked next to them.

"Oh no." I shoved the reins into Donnel's lap.

"Samwise?" Donnel said as I jumped down from the cart and marched through the snow to the back of the cart.

_This better not be happening. Please God, don't let this be happening again. Please, please…_

I threw the canvas cover to the side and climbed up into the back of the cart. The sacks of potatoes were right against the back of the cart. Sure enough, there were five there instead of two. My heart froze in my chest, and I felt a knot form in my throat.

"Fuck…" I muttered.

_Maybe we just mislabeled something?_

Lon'qu furrowed his brow at me as I nudged the first bag with my toe. It felt lumpy and hard, with multiple bumpy objects inside. Definitely full of potatoes. The second bag was the same way.

"Samwise? What are you doing?" Tiki asked as she drew back into the cart.

I raised a finger, glanced down at the third bag, then reared back with my boot.

The toe of my boot planted into something soft and fleshy. A loud rush of wind followed by a sharp, wheezing curse emanated from the sack. Lon'qu's eyes narrowed, Tiki's eyes widened, and I heard an exceptionally loud curse erupt from Donnel in the front of the cart.

I grasped the top of the third potato sack and opened it. Morgan came spilling out of the sack, wheezing for air as she curled up in the fetal position at my feet.

"I…" She gasped, "Probably… deserved that."

"Gawds you've gotta be kidding me!?"

_No, no, no!_

I threw the fourth bag open, and Severa emerged instead of a bunch of potatoes. A long frown rested on her lips as she glared up at me.

"I swear to Naga, if you kick me, I will knock you out." Severa grumbled at me.

"Not before I knock you out, dumbass kid!" Donnel roared from the front, making Severa pale.

"Oh… wait…"

"We've-" Morgan tried to sit up, then collapsed back down to the floor of the cart, "We've been found out. Oh Naga, why did you kick so hard?"

"Because I had a sinking suspicion a trio of idiots were in these bags." I grumbled back, glowering at Severa as she shrank beneath Tiki and Lon'qu's furious glares.

The third bag rustled and, to my absolute horror, a blue haired princess poked her head out of the top.

"I suppose this means we have been caught?" Lucina muttered as she glanced around the cart, her body still covered by the burlap sack.

Now it was my turn to blanch, "I-I just called the Princess an idiot."

"She is one!" Donnel barked, "So don't worry." Then I heard a sharp gasp come from him. He poked his head back through the canvas flaps at the front of the cart, and his eyes widened, "Oh Naga, what the hell are you doing here Lucina!?"

"I was about to ask the same thing." Tiki said, a long frown marring her usually serene face.

Lucina glanced at me, Tiki, Donnel, and Lon'qu; visibly perplexed by our exasperated expressions. She furrowed her brow, thinned her lips, then flicked her gaze down to a still hurting Morgan.

"I thought you agreed with me when I said they would welcome our help?"

"I…" Morgan wheezed and weakly raised one hand, "I said nothing… like…Naga, Samwise you've got a seriously strong kick."

"Well, now that you three are here I've got plenty of frustration to put into it." I replied, running a hand through along the top of my head, "This is twice now." I muttered as I hopped out of the cart, boots crunching in the frost, "Twice!"

I leaned against the cart, my hands gripping the railing along the fringe of the canvass top. My fingers curled tight as a growl slipped from my lips. Before I could shove myself away in frustration, Tiki hopped out of the cart. Behind her, still inside of the cart, I could hear Donnel scolding the three stowaways in a most vulgar manner. He even said one word about all three of them that made me wince, and caused Tiki to frown.

"Maribelle won't like that one." She muttered.

I had to snort out an exasperated laugh at that, "I have a feeling she'll forgive him this time." I hung my head one more time, sighing even as Tiki started to talk again.

"I suppose we must turn around now."

I shook my head, "No can do."

Tiki furrowed her brow, looking at me puzzled. I drew in a deep breath, and braced myself for the long frown that I knew would show up on Tiki's face once I finished explaining to her why we couldn't turn around.

"If we turn back, we forfeit the mission."

"Why?"

I pursed my lips, "Grima has spies, right?"

Realization slowly dawned on Tiki's face. Instead of frowning, or scowling at me, she appeared concerned, and thoughtful as well.

"If we turn back, any spies will know where we might have been going?"

I nodded, "Think about it. We're returning the Princess, who is an extremely capable warrior, and two of her close friends, also very capable warriors, instead of bringing them with us on whatever mission we were going on. That gives any spy reason to believe that the mission we have is far too dangerous for them."

"Which it is."

I nodded, "That's why I'm doing everything in my power to not scream." I drew in one more deep breath, "They're part of this now. And all of our plans have now gone up in smoke."

Tiki's mouth drew into a thin line as she pondered my words for a moment. She flicked her eyes to the darkening sky, and hummed to herself.

"It's getting late." She muttered, "I suggest we make camp for the night."

I leaned up against the cart once more, rocking back and forth on my feet as I took another deep breath. I bowed my head, tucked my chin, and exhaled, reining in my feelings of panic and fear.

"Probably a good idea." I croaked.

Tiki said nothing else. I heard her step around the cart, likely to tell Donnel that we were making camp here. As she did that, I heard Lon'qu's stern voice scolding the kids in the back of the cart. For some reason, that had to be scarier than Donnel raging at them, because I heard not a single word of backsass from Severa or Morgan. I didn't expect Lucina to sass back because assumed she didn't have that kind of temperament.

_Then again, I also assumed she wouldn't be stupid enough to join in on something like this. _I thought, running a hand through my hair and puffing out one more breath.

"So," Donnel stepped around the cart, face still red with anger, "What're we eating?"

I snorted back, "Fuck if I know. Pick something out."

As I stepped up into the cart to grab some camping supplies, I heard Donnel huff behind me. He also said nothing, and I preferred it that way. With how much stress I felt, and even more of it piled on by the dumb kids, I was liable to snap at any moment. I ignored the guilty looks Severa, Morgan, and Lucina gave me as they stepped out of the cart. I grabbed a few canvas tents and not so threw them with all of my strength out of the cart, which felt strangely cathartic. I smirked to myself, and grabbed the cast iron skillet next. I reared back to throw it, paused, thought better of doing that (since this could easily brain someone), and decided to save the catharsis for later.

"Hm…" I looked down at the skillet, "Maybe I'll get back at them by cooking for them?"

* * *

The campfire crackled softly next to the cart as I quietly munched on what would likely be the only non-soup or stew meal for this journey. Donnel decided that since the kids decided to be shits, and he didn't have any booze to deal with the headache, he'd at least cook up a decent meal for the adults to enjoy. Tiki managed to convince him to cook for Lucina, Severa, and Morgan too. But I personally sided with Donnel on making them starve.

However, I will say this, it is amazing how much a good meal can brighten a grumpy mood. Donnel decided to break into our "merchant goods" for dinner. He whipped up a delicious stir fry for us, made with bits of chicken, and whatever vegetables and spices he could scrounge up. Overall, it tasted heavenly, and I was already on my second helping.

We shared our meal in silence. Occasionally, I noticed either Morgan or Severa flick a nervous glance towards Lon'qu or Tiki. They hardly paid any attention to me or Donnel, probably because we didn't manage to put the fear of god in them like our two comrades could (quite literally in Tiki's case).

As I dug into my second, and final, helping, Tiki rose from her seat with a yawn.

"If you all will excuse me, I'm going to retire for the night. Samwise, walk with me to the cart for a moment."

I raised my brow, and glanced down longingly at the steaming stir fry in my bowl. A long sigh left my lips. I set the bowl to the side and got to my feet, knees aching a little bit after being motionless for so long on the road. My left leg actually managed to fall asleep, making me limp a little after Tiki. Once we got to the cart, my leg woke up and I rolled my eyes, my annoyance with today's events returning.

"You appear quite distressed, Samwise." Tiki hopped up into the cart, taking a seat on the back of it in order to look at me.

I rolled my eyes, "That obvious?"

A faint smile crossed Tiki's lips, "Quite."

I grimaced a little, "Not my intention to bring down the mood. So I apologize for that."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Samwise. You have every right to be upset at this moment. This is your first mission without Anna or Gaius, and several new variables have been thrown into the mix. We will discuss how to go about this while on the road tomorrow, I'm sure." She spun back around and moved towards the small bedroll she had set up in the back of the cart, "In the meantime, I do suggest letting your frustrations go. It will only make this mission harder."

With that sagely advice, Tiki laid down on her bedroll, and quickly dozed off. As quietly as I could, I stepped away from the cart. My feet crunched atop frost encrusted dead grass as I made my way back to the fire. Lon'qu had finished his supper and left the fire for his tent, as did Donnel, and Morgan, leaving me alone with Lucina and Severa. Both of them were speaking in hushed tones as I approached, and quickly stopped as I dropped down to my spot next to the fire.

I glanced over at the two, then grabbed my bowl of luke-warm stir fry, "Don't mind me. Not like I'm paying attention."

Both girls glanced at each other, then Severa rose and cleared her throat.

"Do you have any extra tents in the cart?"

I furrowed my brow, swirling my fork through what little remained on my meal, "Considering that we packed for three people, not six, I'm sure you can take a good guess."

Severa's face reddened, "Yeah- well- you don't have to be such a jerk about it!"

My face remained impassive, mostly because I was tired and still a little frustrated. My lack of a reaction only spurred Severa to utter a furious huff.

"Fine, I'll sleep with Morgan."

Lucina's gaze followed Severa as she stormed towards Morgan's tent, "There may be room in the cart?"

"Cart's cold!" Severa snapped back, before disappearing into the tent.

Just like that, me and Lucina were the only ones still awake. I pursed my lips, and mulled over Tiki's advice. So, once I finished the last couple bites of my meal, I set my bowl to the side, flopped down onto my back, lacing my fingers behind my head, and stared up at a completely gray sky.

_Not even a star to distract myself with._

"Are you going to sleep?"

I turned my head to look at Lucina, who was still picking at her bowl of stir fry.

"Nah." I replied.

A long breath left my lips and I returned my gaze to the sky. Back home, whenever I was far enough away from city lights, the brilliant stars in the night sky always managed to leave me in awe. Even in Appleton, where there were plenty of streetlights to dull the night sky, I could still make out some stars, and I would smile up at them whenever I had the chance to look up. Never quite understood why I was that way? Maybe it was just a need for something extraordinary in my previously ordinary life.

I kind of longed for that boring life now. You never realize how good things are in life until you lose the things you take for granted. Indoor plumbing, the microwave oven, space heaters, even a cheap cheeseburger, I missed all of those things. At the same time though, as I reminisced on what I left behind, and what I aimed to get back to, a troubling thought wormed its way through the back of my mind.

What is there to go back to?

I mean, if time flowed at the same rate, then I would have been gone for nearly four months now. Considering there were witnesses to me getting plowed by the city bus, I doubt I would be declared a missing person. My family likely already had a funeral service finished, and I was probably nothing more than a memory now. If I did manage to get back home, what would happen?

_Nothing simple, that's for certain. _I thought, reaching over to scratch an itch on my cheek.

So then what? If I was second guessing going back, then where did that leave me? Do I just try to establish a life here, in this world? Hard to do when a Death Dragon is waging an apocalyptic war on a scale only ever described in the Bible, or a good fantasy story. And with how close I have come to death since I got to Ylisse, did I really want to stay here? Did I want to continuously risk life and limb like this? Was constant warfare, fear, and worry really worth it?

I snorted to myself, _And how was it any different back home… other than the nearly dying parts?_

"Samwise?"

"Hm?" I replied, not bothering to glance over at Lucina as I remained lost in thought.

"You appear to have a lot on your mind."

I flicked my eyes towards her. Apparently she finally finished her supper.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Lucina shifted in her seat, "Care to share?"

I turned my head towards her, "Share?"

Lucina shrugged, "I know you're an amnesiac of sorts."

"Of sorts?"

"Well, I've heard of strange recollections of memory on your part. Morgan once described a song you sang for her, Owain, Cynthia, and Anna while you were journeying to rescue me."

I snorted a little bit, "That song." A smile formed on my lips, "_A Boy Named Sue_ was always a favorite. Not even my style of music, but damn if it isn't fun."

Lucina tilted her head, "Sounds like you have very fond memories of that song."

I stared at the Princess, a little dumbfounded. Did she just figure it all out with a simple question about a song? I stared at her, mouth agape, as I waited for an inevitable flurry of follow up questions. None of which I was eager, or necessarily willing, to answer right now. I knew how this sort of thing went now, after having gone through this exact scenario thrice with Anna, Tiki, and Morgan.

What to expect this time? Veiled threats with plenty of ability to carry them out, a la Tiki? A knife to the throat, a la Anna? Or perhaps Lucina is actually a capable mage, and is about to electrocute the shit out of me, which is what Morgan nearly did.

Instead, to my ever growing shock, Lucina drew in a deep breath, and sank back onto her elbow, blue eyes glancing up at the gray sky.

"So, Samwise, what's it like where you're from?"

A sharp intake of breath caused her to glance down from the sky and back to me.

"What's what like?"

"The sky of course." Lucina glanced up, "It's been like this for as long as I can remember. Cold, gray, lifeless and dull. I've read stories from the library, and they describe the sky in such incredible terms that it is hard for me to imagine."

I raised my brow, my worry easing into caution mixed with curiosity. This was certainly not the reaction I was expecting.

"Like?" I asked.

"Well… one story described a sunrise as warm and glowing. As golden as a wheat field in the middle of a bright summer, which was more than enough to brighten the hero's mood after a dark and stormy night. Another described a sunrise along the ocean as quiet and beautiful. With rays of crimson sunlight glinting off of the water, making it look like diamonds shimmered on the sea." Lucina's face saddened, "I have vague memories of stuff like that, but… nothing to really hold on to." She glanced at me again, "You're clearly not from here, and you have memories to look back on, that much I know now. So, what is it like where you're from?"

I worked my jaw back and forth as I shifted onto my side, so I could more easily look at Lucina. Gotta respect royalty and face them while I talk. I'm not interested in figuring out what happens if I don't do that.

"Well… depends on the season."

"So there are seasons where you are from?"

I snorted, "Well, yeah. There's about two weeks of fall, forever of winter, a bit of spring, and construction."

Lucina arched an eyebrow, puzzled, even as I laughed at my own terrible joke. I rested my head on my hand, elbow digging into the cold dirt, as my chuckles died away. I waved my other hand, as if I was swatting away the awkward silence that was slowly building between us.

"Don't worry about it." I coughed into my free hand, "Let's see, the sky huh? Never paid much attention to it honestly."

"Really?"

"Well, when it's always around, you kinda take it for granted." I replied with a light shrug, "Although, one thing I do remember, is stars. There was this one time, me and my family went way up north in the place I'm from, to the mythical land of Canada."

"I've never heard of such a place." Lucina replied, eyes lighting up as if I was beginning a grand tale of adventure from a story she'd never heard before.

"I doubt you would have." I remarked, deciding to leave out the bit about how it only exists in another universe, seperate from this one, "But when we went up there, we stayed in a cottage with some friends. One night, I decided to step outside and look up." I glanced over, and had to smile at the enormous grin on Lucina's face.

"And?" She asked, like a giddy child, "What did you see?"

I flicked my eyes up, "Stars. So many, and so bright, you'd swear you were looking into a treasure chest full of gems." A wistful sigh left my lips as I fell back onto my back and stared up at the sky once more, "All of them different colors: blue, red, yellow, white. Shimmering through the clouds like a million lightning bugs high in the sky. Honestly, it was probably one of the most breathtaking sights I've ever seen in my life."

Lucina was quiet for a moment once I stopped, making me wonder if I said anything wrong. In my worry, I glanced over. Contrary to my concerns, she was smiling up at the gray sky. But there was a melancholy to her smile. A quiet sadness as I saw her hands curl up into fists on the ground.

"That's why we came along, Sam." She looked at me once more, her blue eyes piercing through me with a conviction that left me stunned, "We… I- couldn't stay on the sidelines any longer and watch as everyone fought for the world. I had to do something, anything, and if I can somehow tip the balance of this mission in our favor, then I aim to do it. Someday, Samwise, I want to see the stars like you did. I want to see gems in the sky, and a sunrise that warms me when morning comes." Her gaze saddened, and for the first time, the stalwart captain of the Shepherds looked weary, "I'm tired of all the darkness." A switch flipped, and her resolve returned. She drew in a deep breath, and her determined gaze returned to the pitch blac sky, "Upon everything I hold dear, I swear this: I will bring back the blue skies of my father's day. Somehow, someway, I will."

In that moment, my frustration with the kids faded away. The way Lucina spoke, it made me understand why they went through with their reckless course of action. To them, this mission to steal Sable is the only way to restore the world that they love. It is the only way for them to have peace in their lives. A sensation that had grown foreign to all of them. I never thought the kids, with their boundless tenacity and energy, could ever be war weary like Anna or Donnel clearly were. But now, I could see the exhaustion etched onto Lucina's youthful face. I could hear the ache in her voice as she longed for a day she would not have to fight for her life. How could I blame them for wanting to get involved in the fight, if they believed it would help end this war?

Somehow, this realization made me want to fight. It made me want to put everything on the line for a world I was barely a part of. Yet somehow, I was starting to believe I was more at home here than I had been in Wisconsin, where I lived a boring life of a nobody, fated to amount to nothing more than a suburbanite businessman at best, and an apartment dwelling salesman at worst. This life I had now gave me something I realized I had been lacking.

I had purpose here. I had a role to play, and people to rely on while doing it, as well as friends who relied on me.

_Do I really want to go back home? _

"Well, Samwise." Lucina breathed, "I think I shall go to sleep now. Do you mind taking the first watch?"

I shook my head, "Not at all." I sat upright, my jaw tight as I pondered my situation further. Lucina did not say anything else as she curled up near the fire and drifted off, not even bothering to try and get into a tent. Part of me snorted at that. She's a princess, so I wouldn't have been surprised if she wanted a tent. Then again, she is a warrior, and perhaps sleeping in the cold is nothing new for her.

_It's not really new for me either. _My lips drew into a thin line, and I looked into the campfire again, listening in silence as the wood crackled and popped while the flames danced.

A cold wind whipped by. I pulled my cloak a little tighter over my shoulders, and drew my hood over my head. My breath misted in front of me, and I shifted closer to the fire, feeling the heat wash over me. A content sigh left my lips, and I stole a glance at the trio of tents, the cart, and the princess.

_Hopefully this works. _I nodded to myself, my mind drifting away from my own situation, to the mission, _No… it will work._

It had to work. Sable had to be stolen, and we needed to make it back to Ylisstol with it. If we failed, then this world was doomed.

I didn't exactly have any others to go to now.

**And chapter! Let the heist begin! This was mostly a set-up chapter, which threw a complete monkey wrench into all of the carefully made plans for the mission. Poor Sam can't seem to catch a break. It's going to be very fun to see what happens due to the kid's getting involved in this mission. I can't wait to show everyone what I've got in store!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

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**Also, check out the **_**Fanfiction Treehouse**_** podcast! Latest episode we did was on villains and creating conflict in a story. We're (that being myself, Stormtide Leviathan, Narwhal Lord, and RedXEagl3) are doing our best to give the best advice we can on writing, so drop by if you want to listen! You can find the podcast on Spotify, and on Soundcloud!**


	28. The Sad Reality

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 27

The Sad Reality

Morning came swiftly, and silently. There were no songbirds heralding the coming dawn and the rising sun, nor warmth in the dull, orange rays that peaked up from the east. Since I took the first watch the previous evening, that meant I was the last to wake. That did not excuse me from the camp cleanup.

All six of us quietly worked to pack our camp back into the cart. Donnel and Lon'qu made sure that we left no evidence of our travels through this place, choosing to scatter the ashes of our campfire once it was doused. I made sure all of our inventory was accounted for, with the exception of our stir fry ingredients, then we loaded up. Since there was limited space in the back of the cart, someone had to sit up front with me while I drove. The first shift belonged to Lucina, and I had a feeling why she wanted to sit next to me first.

So there we were, rumbling along the dead countryside of Ylisse, wagon wheels rolling over gray fields. The first couple of hours of travel were silent, probably because everyone in the back fell asleep again, and I was too sleep-deprived to chat. Despite our weariness, once the dull sun rose high enough into the gray sky, Lucina cleared her throat.

"Hm?" I replied, my eyes focused on the rolling hills in front of us.

"So," Lucina ran a hand through her hair, "You're not an amnesiac."

I glanced over at her, the reins sitting loose in my grip as I lounged back in my seat.

"Nope."

Saying that one word felt like such a relief. For some reason, the more people learned that secret, and the less I cared about keeping it, the less weight I felt on my shoulders. I mean, it was a terrible lie in the first place. How on earth could I keep such a charade up for long? It still amazed me it lasted for as long as it had. Given that Anna, Tiki, Morgan, and now Lucina knew the truth, I doubt my secret would stay that way for long. So, might as well relax around the Princess, and speak with candor for a change.

"Why lie then?"

I flicked my gaze to Lucina once again, then shrugged, "To be honest, I'm not even sure anymore. Self-preservation, maybe? The result of me panicking, most likely." My mouth drew into a thin line as I thought about it, "Maybe I just wanted to make sure I wound up in the right spot, and that seemed like the best path forward."

"The right spot?"

"Y'know like," I measured my next words carefully, "getting to where I thought I would have the best chance of survival."

Lucina furrowed her brow, "You said the same thing when I spoke to you in Nixtas's library. Yet, like then, your reasoning still makes no sense to me."

I shrugged back, "People can be pretty senseless. At least that's my personal experience."

_That bus driver definitely was._

Lucina remained unconvinced, "It still puzzles me that you would think joining the Shepherds would give you the best chance at survival."

"Yeah, well… I'm not known for making the most informed decisions under pressure." A slight laugh left my lips, "I did drink poison so I could steal Miriel's notes about this mission."

"Yeah, you-" Lucina's eyes widened and her jaw fell open, "You what?"

I blinked, "You didn't know about that?"

"No! No, I did not!" Lucina cried, "Why would you do something like that?"

I cringed at the pain that I recalled from that day, "To be fair, Henry made me do it."

Lucina's gaped at me. Before I could continue recounting the entire, horrible affair, she raised a hand.

"Henry was involved, that's all I need to know," Lucina stated, causing me to chuckle.

"Makes sense."

We fell back into silence for a moment, likely because Lucina was still processing my rough decision-making skills, and I really did not know how to proceed forward in this conversation. I revealed I wasn't an amnesiac, and she didn't have a violent reaction. So now what?

I furrowed my brow, "Lucina, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why are you not… I don't know, freaking out?" I asked, "I just told you that I lied about my past, used amnesia as a cover, and yet, unlike a few others, you're not ripping my head off and-"

"Why would I rip your head off?" Lucina asked.

"Well, I figured you'd be angry and-"

"That sounds horribly painful, not to mention difficult to do." Lucina continued, making me realize that the metaphor flew completely over her head. "Besides, I may possess a fair amount of physical strength, but I doubt I could tear your head from your shoulders without some sort of help."

"That's…" I trailed off into soft laughter, making the Princess appear even more confused, "That's not what I meant. Um," I thought about explaining the metaphor, but eventually decided to keep the conversation going, "why are you not angry with me?"

Lucina's confusion remained, "And why would I be angry with you? For that matter, who else knows?"

I drew in a deep breath, "Anna, Tiki, and I'm pretty sure Morgan's figured it out at this point."

Lucina raised her brow, "And you still considered the truth a secret?"

Again, I chuckled, then scratched the back of my head, "Yeah, apparently. But you haven't answered my question."

Lucina's lips drew into a thin line, "How about this, we play a game?"

"Oh?"

"Cynthia and I used to play it with people we met all the time, and sometimes with people we already knew." Lucina leaned back in her seat, "Ever heard of Twenty Questions?"

I snorted, "Who hasn't?"

Lucina smirked back, "Fair enough. So, your first question is: why am I not angry at you?" She brought her hand to her chin, rubbing it a moment as she pondered my question. "Well, I supposed I don't see the point of being angry with you for that. It's not a devastating lie, nor does it define who you are to any degree."

I looked at her with disbelief, "Define who I am? I'd say being an amnesiac or not is a pretty distinctive detail."

"Does it determine whether you are a good person or not?" Lucina replied, making me fall completely silent, "Does it determine whether or not you are willing to do the right thing when the time comes? I meant what I said back in Nixtas' library, Samwise. Your actions have spoken louder than words, or secrets, could. Every time you were called upon, you did the right thing." She drew in a breath as I stared at her, a bit surprised by her reasoning, "Not all of my Father's Shepherds had savory pasts. Gaius was a thief who defected from Plegia when my Aunt Emmeryn was assassinated. Henry was a dark mage for the Grimleal. Anna… well… you know Anna. She has a bit of a selfish streak."

I furrowed my brow at that, "Perhaps a bit, but that can't be all there is to her."

"And that is exactly my point." Lucina nodded, "You may have lied about your past and your amnesia, but has that prevented you from being a good Shepherd? In my eyes, it has not. So why should I be angry about it?"

"Huh…" I sat up a little taller in my seat, the reins to Harold still loose in my hands as the cart rumbled along, "If only everyone thought that way."

A long frown came over Lucina's face, "Who's angry with you over such a trivial thing?"

"Some people don't find white lies to be trivial, Princess." I said with a sigh, "I know Morgan's pretty pissed, but she's been having a hard time lately, so I don't hold it against her. Anna was more than a little miffed, but she's accepted it at this point. And Tiki…" I shivered, "If Anna didn't already trust me, then she probably would've annihilated me."

"I would've done no such thing."

I jumped in my seat as Tiki's head poked out from the canvass covering behind us. Strands of her green hair waved gently in the cold breeze that swept over these empty hills. Her emerald eyes flicked back and forth between me, still caught off guard by her interjection into the conversation, and Lucina, who didn't seem surprised in the slightest.

"If anything, I would've interrogated you, figured out you were relatively harmless, and let you off with a fair warning." Tiki stated, "And I would have made sure to monitor you as I do with Henry."

I arched an eyebrow, "You monitor Henry?"

"Wouldn't you?"

I thought about Henry, and his pure, dangerous, insanity, then nodded in agreement.

"Fair."

_Nice to know I would've been considered as crazy as that nut job had Anna not found out first._

"So…" Tiki slipped out of the cart and managed to squeeze her way between me and Lucina. As she took her seat, she folded her hands in her lap, and looked back and forth between myself and Lucina, "I believe that was my first question?"

I blinked, "Uh… does that mean-"

"Yes, it was." Lucina nodded, not missing a beat, "I just answered Samwise's question, which means it is my turn." She thought for a moment, then nodded, "Samwise, where do you hail from?"

"Hail from?"

"Yes. I don't believe you are from Ylisse. Am I wrong?"

Tiki glanced over at me, giving me a look that told me I better tread very carefully. Her glare was a silent reminder that I better obey the rules of Twenty Questions. The first rule of the game: No lying.

And… what was the point of lying about where I was from anymore? Jumping through all of these hoops, juggling all of the little white lies, had become so exhausting. I've never been able to handle such things in my entire life. Either the guilt would get to me first, or I'd slip up badly and the truth would come fumbling from my lips. The fact that I held out this long, and it took this long for this many people to figure out the truth, was a stroke of pure luck.

Plus, when a dragon in human form is giving you the "I'll know if your lying" look, you damn well better tell the truth.

"Another world." I exhaled.

Lucina appeared puzzled, "Another world?" Her lips drew into a thin line, "Do you mean-"

"That's not a metaphor this time." I muttered, keeping my eyes on the reins in my lap.

Silence. Cold silence, made even chillier by the biting wind sweeping along the dead hills, making the dead grass whistle a mournful song. I did not want to raise my gaze, because I dreaded the reaction. As the silence dragged on, I worked up the nerve to glance over at Lucina and Tiki. There was a look of quiet approval on Tiki's face. A sign that I did the right thing in her eyes. Meanwhile, Lucina's brow was furrowed in deep contemplation. She hummed to herself, nodded, and glanced at me again.

"Very well then. You are from another world."

My jaw fell open.

"J-just like that?"

Lucina tilted her head to the side, along with Tiki, "Is that your second question?" The Princess asked.

"I- we're still playing and-" I uttered a long groan, pinched the bridge of my nose, and nodded.

"Yes." Lucina responded.

"Yes what?"

"Wait your turn." Tiki chided me.

"That wasn't meant to be my-" I let my head fall back, and my eyes stared up at the gray sky, "Fuck me running."

"That would be difficult to do." Tiki hummed.

My cheeks heated up, turning redder than the ripest tomato, "I- well-"

"What would be hard to do?" Lucina questioned, confused.

Tiki waved off her question, "That's your second question, and I'll answer it by telling you to ask your Aunt."

Lucina leaned forward, looking to me for an answer. My cheeks reddened even more, and a harsh cough came from my lungs. I quickly covered my mouth and shook my head, once again earning an approving nod from Tiki.

"Very well, I'll speak to my aunt when we get home about the topic."

"I'm sure you will." Tiki nodded, holding back some light laughter.

"What have I done?" I muttered under my breath, doing my best to fight back the intense blush on my cheeks.

"If that's your second question for me," Tiki began, "You will find out soon enough. I'm sure you'll learn via Maribelle."

A quiet whimper left my lips as I envisioned an enraged, pink-clad, short, blonde terror tearing me apart with a parasol for saying such horrific words in front of the Princess. God, the bruises were already forming. That, or the bumps from the rough ground beneath the cart were starting to take a toll on my backside. Either way, I knew once (or if) we made it back to Ylisstol, I was in for a world of pain.

_I'm good at bringing that on myself, aren't I?_

"My turn for a question." Tiki began, turning to me, "Where did you live in your world, and what was it like?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, "That's two questions."

"What was it like?" Lucina butted in, "There's my next question."

_I'm getting tagged teamed! _I thought, staring at both of them incredulously. I caught a ghost of a smile on Tiki's lips, betraying her enjoyment at making me squirm in my seat.

_You mischievous lizard._

"I lived in a place called the United States of America." I answered, "Specifically the state of Wisconsin. As for what it was like," I fell silent for a moment as I thought about my old home. It felt so strange to be talking about it like this, as if I'd never go back. That quiet voice in my mind once again began to ask me how I would even manage to get home, or even if I wanted to? I quickly shushed it so I could answer the question, "It's a northern state. Similar to southern Regna Ferox. Short, mild summers, followed by long, harsh winters. Nothing ever really happened in the town I lived in. It was getting to be a bigger town when I left, but it was still considered a small place in comparison to a city like Madison or Milwaukee."

Lucina frowned at me, "Not a very revealing answer."

"But not a lie." I chirped back.

Tiki rolled her eyes beside me, "Very well."

"My turn then," I continued, "What… what the hell is that up ahead?"

I pulled on the reins as we crested a particularly tall hill. Stretching out before us were great, gray plains, filled with brown grass and dead shrubs. A dry riverbed snaked its way through the plains. Small puffs of dust kicked up from the riverbed with each passing whisper of wind. It reminded me of those old photos of the Dust Bowl I'd see in history books. A dry, dead land where nothing could grow, and where people barely scraped by with whatever scraps they could get their hands on.

Sitting on the bank of the dry river bed was a ramshackle looking village. At one time it must've been a prosperous place, as I could see the skeletons of several homesteads littering the land further away from the town proper. But now, it appeared to be little more than a ghost town.

An uneasy feeling settled in my gut. The last time I wandered into a ghost town, I was attacked by Risen and had to be saved by Frederick, Severa, Laurent, and Noire. Part of me contemplated whether or not we should circumvent the town, but before I could voice my opinion, Lucina spoke up.

"Get us down there." She said with a sharper edge to her voice as one hand drifted down to Falchion.

Tiki furrowed her brow, while my anxiety grew.

"You sure we should?" I asked, "Could be walking into something nasty."

"If there was something vile nearby, I would have sensed it already." Tiki muttered, "Perhaps this is one of the few villages to escape Grima's wrath. Regardless, we should check and see if there is anyone who needs help."

A heavy sigh left my lips. Of course, Tiki was right. But I also figured the last thing we needed to do was slow ourselves down by stumbling onto a problem that will take time to solve. The mission to steal Sable is time-sensitive and, with each day, grows more perilous. I just wanted this quest to be over as soon as possible.

But, that was not my decision to make.

"Better don those disguises then." I told Tiki, while also glancing at Lucina.

Lucina furrowed her brow, "Why me?"

"Who else has blue hair and wields a sacred sword?" I remarked.

Lucina drew back, "Er- fair point."

Before I could say anything else, she surged into the back of the cart. A sharp crack sounded, and Severa howled. My hand went to my forehead as I heard the princess stumble through an awkward apology. I could hear Severa's sharp curses, along with Donnel's biting laughter, as the cart jostled behind me.

Finally, snow crunched as boots stomped towards the passenger seat. Severa jumped up into the seat next to Tiki, folded her arms, and scowled. A boot print rested on her forehead.

I tried to fight my laughter, but I clearly did not do a good enough job. My sputtering laughs earned Severa's ire as she glared at me.

"What!?" She snapped, causing me to laugh louder as I caught a better look of Lucina's boot print over her reddening face.

I waved a hand, "N-nothing. Tiki, you'd better get a disguise of some sort on too. Try to cover those ears."

"I'm already aware of what I must do, Samwise. But thank you for the reminder." Tiki replied, somehow disguising her tone and leaving me wondering if she was being sarcastic or genuine.

The cart jostled some more behind me as Tiki stepped back into the cart, grabbing something to cover her distinctive pointed ears and vibrant, green hair. Meanwhile, I took in a deep breath, and looked out to the small town before us.

"You gonna go or not?" Severa grumbled.

I rolled my eyes.

_Always abrasive._

I snapped the reins, Harold snorted, and we trundled down the hill to the ghost town.

* * *

Derelict, desolate, utterly lifeless. That was my first impression of the little village as we crossed the decaying wooden bridge that lay over the dry riverbed. Wooden planks creaked and groaned beneath the weight of the cart, announcing our presence to whatever occupied the ghost town. I cringed with each creak. My entire body tense and ready to react to anything. One of my hands held the reins loosely, while the other gripped my kukri, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

Severa seemed just as uneasy beside me. Her hand kneaded the grip to her sword as her head remained on a swivel, scanning our surroundings for any threats. There wasn't the usual scowl on her face anymore. Instead her face was as unreadable as stone. Her sharp eyes scanned the shadows along the various huts lining the lone dirt road into the village, making sure there were no threats nearby.

Eventually, we entered a town square. A dry fountain, which likely served as a source of beauty for the village long ago, sat in the center of the square, overrun with the corpses of vines, grass, and scraggly bushes.

A small church rested on the other side of the square from where we entered. The steeple had rotted after years of neglect. The stained glass windows lining the walls were shattered, the images within them completely unrecognizable. Dead vines crawled up the stone bricks that made up the exterior walls. There were larger buildings lining the square, which appeared to be shops that were now abandoned. Overall, it looked like something I would see straight out of a terrible horror movie. Which did little to help my nerves.

As I glanced over at the shops, Harold snorted hard in front of the cart. The sturdy horse then whinnied and stomped a hoof, grinding our progress to a halt. As soon as the cart stopped, Severa rose to her feet, ready to draw her sword. I could hear Lon'qu and Donnel jump out from the back of the cart, the sound of steel sliding against boiled leather causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

Donnel cautiously moved around the cart over to Harold, running his bandaged up stump along the horse's flank.

"What is it boy?" The Knight muttered, doing his best to calm the animal.

Lon'qu stepped out in front of the cart, his blade drawn and held at the ready. Tiki and Lucina remained in the cart, wisely so in my opinion. The last thing we needed was for those two to wind up in any sort of immediate danger.

_Then again, they're probably the best fighters here, so maybe they should be the ones out of the cart right now._

"Who goes there?" Lon'qu growled, his voice rising to a volume that I did not know the silent swordsman was capable of.

Footsteps scraped against the ground. Multiple sets of them. Slowly, I drew my kukri, sweat beading on my brow as my mouth turned dry. The last time I saw true combat, I nearly died to Risen, a brigand, and one of my own allies. Needless to say, I was not keen on experiencing that ever again.

The shuffling came from the ruined church. I narrowed my gaze on the shadowed doorway, watching as one of the heavy doors creaked open.

The terrified visage of a half-starved, middle-aged man poked out from the church. A scraggly beard lined his gaunt chin. He glared at us warily, sunken eyes filled with terror.

Lon'qu drew back at the sight of the villager. He lowered his sword, a gesture of friendliness to the terrified man. Meanwhile, I watched, silent, unsure of what to do in this situation.

Donnel noticed the man next. He glanced up at me and Severa, gesturing for us to sheath our weapons. As I jammed my kukri back into its scabbard, Donnel carefully stepped past Lon'qu, making sure to keep his sword sheathed as well. He raised his one hand and stump, showing he held no weapons.

"Howdy!" Donnel called to the man, "How ya doing?"

The villager did not reply. He eyed Donnel warily, then froze as a little girl came up to his leg, hiding behind it as she looked out at us with scared, brown eyes. Her long, brown hair was matted and tangled. Her clothing looked ratty, looking more like a bundle of rags than an actual dress. I spotted a few more fearful faces looking out at us from the church, and my eyes widened.

_This town is still here. They're all still living here._

Donnel took another careful step forward, and the man stiffened, pushing the little girl further behind him, making Donnel freeze in place. Clearly the gentle approach to contacting these people was not working.

_So let's try something different._

"Alright, everyone!" I clapped my hands together, forcing any anxiety back to the deeper recesses of my mind, and drawing on my brief experience as a door-to-door salesman in order to sell this new persona of mine, "I've got plenty of goods here for sale! Soup! Pickled vegetables! Jerky! Come on and get it!"

That caught the villagers hiding in the shadow of the church off guard. The man at the lead glanced at me, stunned, then looked back to the villagers hiding behind him. I thought I heard muffled voices barking up at the lead villager, before he finally stepped out from the shadows.

He was even frailer than I thought, and still as fearful as a deer in the middle of hunting season. He crept out of the church, tiptoeing his way towards Donnel and Lon'qu, eyes flicking back and forth as if he expected some sort of treachery. When no ambush occurred, he visibly relaxed and motioned for the other adults hiding in the church to come out.

In total, discounting any children hiding within the church, there were about two dozen villagers still holding out in this little ghost town. They carefully approached the cart, and Donnel and Lon'qu let them. I grimaced a little, realizing I had to keep the act of a merchant up.

"H-How-" The first villager began, his voice a hoarse whisper before he cleared his throat, "How much for water and bread?"

That made my chest ache. I drew in a deep breath, thinking about how valuable such commodities were to us as well. I glanced over to Severa for some help, only to see her visibly shaken by what she was seeing around her. Rendered silent by the squalor and desperation.

I sighed, "What do you got, friend?"

The Villager's eyes were downcast, "N-nothing really. Um… there may still be some stuff in the church not yet plundered and-"

_Oh Anna is going to kick my ass if she hears about this._

I raised a hand, cutting off the villager. Despair washed over his face, as he assumed I was about to tell him that I had nothing to sell to him. I pursed my lips, and glanced back into the cart.

"Hey, how much water do we have back there?"

"Samwise…" Lon'qu breathed, warning me not to give them too much.

Tiki poked her head out, her appearance hidden beneath a deep hood that shadowed out her face and hid her hair beneath red cloth.

"Enough." She said, her shadowed out eyes filled with compassion as she looked out at the villagers around us.

I nodded, and returned my attention to the starving villager, "We have water then, as well as a sack of potatoes and a few loaves of hard bread that we can spare. Unfortunately, I need to keep plenty of stock for my own crew, but I can spare that much and-"

The villager surged up to me, taking my left hand in his.

"Bless you sir." Cracked, dry lips pecked the top of my hand, making me wince a little bit. He shook my hand, still not letting go, "Naga's blessings be upon you."

I gently pulled my hand back, worried about offending the poor guy, but also not wanting it to be held anymore. I did my best to hide my disgust at having my hand kissed, and instead nodded down to Donnel and Lon'qu.

"Oh faithful bodyguards! Mind helping distribute?" I asked, as I hopped down from the cart and moved towards the rear, ready to receive the potatoes, water, and bread from Tiki, Lucina, and a still silent Morgan.

The villagers swarmed the cart at that point. Not in a threatening way, but more so in a grateful surge. I received more hugs on that day than I had in years, all from people who hardly knew me. With each potato I passed out, and each loaf of bread I placed into a villagers' grimy hands, I was repaid with a genuine thank you, and a bright smile. Despite how cold this place was, and how dilapidated the village was, I felt a surge of warmth rise within me.

We did not stay for long there, seeing as how we had to get back on the road towards our dangerous destination. We left the villagers some bronze weapons, of which we had only a few, so they could defend themselves. We also informed them that Ylisstol still stood, and if they could, they should make their way there, where the Exalt would welcome them. Though, a part of me doubted they would travel there. They were all simply too malnourished and weak to make such a treacherous journey. The food and water we gave them would likely sustain the village for maybe another week. But after that… I was not so sure.

Still, my heart felt a little less heavy as I snapped Harold's reins. Our loyal horse snorted and trotted forward, pulling the cart down the road that led out of the village. The villagers waved to us as we left their run-down home, all of them filled with renewed strength and hope that I was more than happy to help give. I simply hoped it lasted for them.

* * *

When night fell, we continued to travel for a few more hours, until the darkness became too thick, and Harold a bit too weary, to continue. When the cart did stop for the night, Donnel started a small fire for us to gather around, and the Knight set to work cooking a couple of the jars of soup loaded into the back of the cart. Tonight would be plain old vegetable soup. I could smell the many aromas of carrots, potatoes, peas, and green beans simmering in the cast iron pot over the fire, making my mouth water.

As we waited, the others chatted, and I remained quiet, thinking over things by myself. Today was the first time I really saw the full impact of the war on the average person. That village, and the poor people within it, were on their last legs of survival, praying for something to save them. Eventually, Risen will come to their homes, to burn and kill all that they know and hold dear. Part of me hoped that they would be able to pick themselves up and flee for Ylisstol while they could. Another part of me wondered if doing so would even be a good idea.

I wasn't going to delude myself. I knew the events of the game well enough to know that eventually Ylisstol will fall too. So if those villagers did make it to the Exalt's city, then what? Would the temporary safety and shelter they'd receive be worth it in the end? Likely not. Unless our mission to steal Sable succeeds, and the Shepherds are able to figure out a way to defeat Grima using it, then all of those villager were as good as dead, whether they got to Ylisstol or not. Hell, we were as good as dead if this mission fails. Lissa and Tiki made it sound like Sable was absolutely essential to their plans, and without it we were all doomed.

No pressure, right?

A sputtering breath left my lips, and I heard someone sit down beside me.

"Samwise." Lucina said, tucking her knees close to her chest in order to fend off the biting cold. Winter's vicious hand had gripped Northern Ylisse, and if I know winter (which I should, given I lived in Wisconsin) we will see snow very soon.

"Your majesty." I replied, causing Lucina to laugh to herself.

"Just Lucina is fine." She exhaled, blue eyes staring into the fire, "Are you going to tell them?"

"Hm?"

"You know." Lucina nodded to the others around the fire, "Tell them."

I froze where I sat, "I uh… haven't given it much thought honestly."

I wrung my hands in my lap, once more debating both the pros and cons of speaking the truth now, of all times. The pros being I would finally have a weight off my shoulders, and no longer have to worry about slipping up. The cons being… plentiful in my mind, the most glaring of which being that I might cause an unnecessary distraction when we should all be focusing on the mission.

"Not sure it's a good idea." I muttered, glancing over at Morgan and Severa. I trusted Donnel and Lon'qu to at least act like adults, in that they won't try to kill me but would likely give me a verbal beat down. As for Severa and Morgan, well, I remember how well Morgan took it when she figured out some of it in Nixtas's library.

Lucina frowned back at me, "Samwise, this could be it for all of us."

"It?" I gulped, already understanding the connotations behind what she was trying to say.

"We all could very well die in the coming days. Doluna is… not the best place to go right now." Lucina breathed, faint nervousness washing over her features, "I think it'd be best if those who fought alongside you knew the truth. Before anything bad can happen."

That felt like a veiled gut punch, which it probably wasn't. After seeing Lucina awkwardly struggle with some of the metaphors and sayings I threw her way, I doubted she even knew how to give an underhanded comment. Perhaps it was my brain looking too deep into things, but my thoughts wandered to Gaius. That wily thief took me in, taught me everything he knew, trusted me enough to give me the key to his sweets stash when he died, and he never knew I had been lying to him. Or maybe he did, and just chose to ignore it? Regardless, I never told him, and that weighed on me as Lucina's words hung heavy in the space between us.

I flicked my gaze over to the others sitting around the fire. Donnel had a wooden spoon in hand as he gently stirred the simmering soup. Lon'qu had a small book in his lap, the swordsman deciding to read during this quiet evening. Morgan was muttering to herself as she flicked through pages in her spellbook, causing Severa to look a bit annoyed as she scooted a few feet away from her sister. Lastly, Tiki knelt on the cold ground, eyes closed, as if she was in some sort of meditative state. It was admirable for a moment, then I heard her snort, snore, and realized she was actually taking a nap sitting up.

_Still impressive._

"Samwise?"

A heavy sigh left my lips, "Fine. Just give me a moment to-"

"Everyone, Samwise has something he would like to say." Lucina announced, causing me to suck in a sharp breath.

All eyes turned to me. Donnel continued stirring the soup as he looked at me. Lon'qu briefly flicked his eyes up from his book before returning most of his attention to it. Severa gave me a grouchy look that was asking why would I disturb the peace and quiet. Morgan continued muttering to herself.

And Tiki snored.

I grit my teeth, "You couldn't have given me a moment to prepare." I hissed out the corner of my mouth.

"Why would you need to prepare?"

"I-" I huffed, and hung my head, "Always throwing me into the fire." I cleared my throat, "Fine, might as well just say it. I'm not an amnesiac."

Morgan stopped muttering, her eyes glancing up at me, surprised I would admit such a thing. Severa's grouchy scowl turned into a look of disbelief. Donnel stopped stirring the soup, his weathered eyes turning to look at me, wondering if I was pulling his leg or not. Lon'qu's sharp gaze shot up from his book, dark eyes narrowing at me, making me shrink a little bit beneath his harsh gaze.

And Tiki snored.

Silence strangled the camp. Before it had been a peaceful, albeit nervous silence, with everyone more focused on the coming trials in our quest. Now it was an accusatory silence. A silence that grabbed me and shook me hard as I shrank beneath everyone's glares.

"Knew it." Morgan muttered, before returning her attention to her spellbook.

"You-you knew-" Severa stammered, her face reddening with anger, "What!?"

Lon'qu grunted as he marked his page with a blade of dead grass and closed his book. Donnel meanwhile, did something I did not expect, but probably should have.

He surged at me, and before Lucina or I could stop him, smacked me hard on top of the head with the wooden spoon.

"Ouch!" I howled as Donnel drew back.

"That's for lying, you damn kid!" Donnel spat, tapping the spoon against his stump as he glowered down at me.

"Was that really necessary, Sir Donnel?" Lucina asked.

"Yeah!" I cried, rubbing my head as I felt a welt forming beneath my hair. I hissed as my figures brushed over, "Jesus, no wonder you're married to Maribelle. You two respond to things you don't like in the same way."

"I ain't berating ya incessantly, so I'd say you're wrong." Donnel argued back.

I glared up at him, "And just what do you think you're doing now?"

Tiki snorted, and snored. Her head tilted a bit forward as she fell further into a deep sleep. Morgan decided to continue studying her spellbook instead of joining in on the scolding I was getting, and Severa… well… she looked way less than happy.

"Are you kidding me!?" The older redhead roared, storming to her feet and marching up to me, "You've been lying to us this entire time!?"

Lucina frowned over at her, "Sev, if you would please calm down and-"

"What else have you lied about, huh? Age? Name? Origins? Are you really from Southtown?"

"Severa!" Lucina barked, making Severa's mouth snap shut, "He can't answer if you don't let him."

Severa glared back at Lucina, but backed down when Lucina's own glare failed to waver. A heavy breath puffed from the furious girl, and she folded her arms, still standing over me.

"You better explain, and fast."

"I'm in agreement." Donnel nodded, his voice holding much less fury than Severa.

I scratched the back of my neck, unsure of how to go forward with this conversation, or rather, interrogation. At least, that's what it felt like, with both Donnel and Severa glaring daggers at me. I looked over to Lucina for some support, and thankfully she gave me a small nod.

"Well, where do you all want to begin?" I asked.

"Why?" Severa growled, earning a warning glance from Lucina. Severa drew in a deep breath through her nose, and her voice came out with less edge as she continued, "Why did you say you had amnesia?"

I shrugged, "Well, the actual explanation for my origins is way more outlandish, even if it's true. So I lied in order to make sure I didn't wind up on my own. I figured that I'd be safer sticking around all of you than being on my own, which contains admittedly flawed logic. "

"Very flawed logic." Morgan piped up, signaling that she was still listening in while reading her spellbook.

I winced, "I think everyone gets it, but anyways…" I cleared my throat, "The truth is that I am not from this world, so to speak. I somehow got sent from my world, to here. And, in a moment of panic, I lied."

Donnel arched an eyebrow, "You ain't from this world?"

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Severa asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes." Both Lucina and I said together.

Severa gawked at Lucina, "Y-you," She pointed at me, then let out a mocking laugh. Her hand fell back down to her side, "Naga, what is going on anymore?"

"You're asking me?" I replied, my lips twitching into a slight smirk, "Cause I have no idea either."

"N-no, I'm not asking you." Severa snapped back, "I don't know why I'd ask you anything, considering I wouldn't know if you were even telling the truth."

"Well I just did, so-"

"Where are ya from then?" Donnel mercifully cut in, preventing Severa and I from devolving into needless bickering.

I inhaled again, bracing myself for the inevitable flurry of follow up questions, "I'm from a place called Wisconsin. And before you ask how I went from there to here, I have no idea. One day I was walking to work, then I got hit by a bus, and I woke up outside of Southtown."

The others were quiet for a moment. Then Morgan looked up from her book.

"What's a bus?"

"A very big, horseless carriage." I replied with a nonchalant shrug, "Very heavy, very fast, and more than a little painful to get run over by."

Severa's intense ire receded even more. Probably because she knew Lucina believed me. It surprised me a little just how much the other kids respected Lucina. Despite Lucina's awkwardness in general conversations, she was clearly the leader among them, and the other kids treated her that way.

"So…" Severa continued, "That song, on the way to Port Ferox, that was one you knew because you didn't have amnesia?"

I sighed, "It all comes back to that damn slip up doesn't it?" I shook my head, kicking myself mentally for being careless, "Yup."

"So why are you still here?" Lon'qu asked, speaking up for the first time. As he stopped speaking, Tiki snorted and snored again.

"Good question." Donnel nodded over to Lon'qu. The Knight exhaled as he stepped away from me and Lucina, returning to his work stirring the soup, "If ya are from a different world, why the hell ain't ya going back?"

"Yeah," Severa nodded, her scowl fading as she spoke, "Why are you fighting alongside us, instead of going home?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but was unable to come up with a response. Instead, my mouth closed, and I furrowed my brow, pondering the question. It was a question I had been asking myself during our entire quest so far. Why haven't I taken a more active hand in finding a way home? Sure, trying to survive the apocalypse would distract from such a goal, but you'd also think that would drive me to escape and get home even more.

All I could manage was an uncertain shrug, "I don't really know. Maybe I feel like I owe you all."

That made Morgan snort, "After taking an ax for Severa when you arrived, I'd say the debt from Southtown was paid in full."

"Nobody asked you." Severa snapped over to Morgan, causing the younger sibling to give her older sister a weary look.

"Easy, Sev." Donnel chided, "No need to get cross with Morgan like that." He raised the wooden spoon out of the soup and gave the steaming broth a quick sip, "Yup, she's done. Lon, ya mind grabbing bowls. Morgan, nudge Tiki awake."

Lon'qu marched over to the cart as Morgan inched her way towards Tiki. Meanwhile, Severa returned her attention to me. Her lips were drawn into a tight line as she kept her arms folded over her chest. While she wouldn't look me in the eye, I could see there was visible frustration with me in her gaze.

"Well…" Severa huffed, "Don't lie anymore."

"I won't." I replied, even as she stormed back to her seat.

My eyes drifted over to Tiki. I watched with a little amusement as Morgan nudged the Manakete with her hand. Tiki snorted, mumbled, then pitched over to her right, hitting the frozen ground with a dull thud as she continued to snore.

"I told ya to nudge her, not knock her over." Donnel teased Morgan.

Lon'qu marched past me, chuckling under his breath as Morgan tried to wake up Tiki with more light taps to her shoulder. Donnel scooped up soup for all of us, and I soon found myself munching on some delicious vegetable soup alongside the Princess and the other Shepherds. A result that caught me by surprise. With the exception of Severa, who still appeared a bit angry with me for lying about having amnesia, the others seemingly chose to move on from the topic. Much like Lucina, they were clearly not pleased that I lied, but they didn't let that define their perception of me.

Eventually, Tiki woke up, as the aroma of soup drifted into her nose and stirred her. With a small yawn and a happy sound that caused Donnel to laugh under his breath, she dug into her dinner with us. The evening once more fell into silence, although now, for me, it was somehow a lot less stressful. Which would probably help my mood for the next week, because I knew the closer we got to Doluna, the more anxious I would feel.

_Just enjoy the soup, Sam. _I thought as I scooped up some of my dinner and spooned it into my mouth. Quiet conversation broke out, and I simply observed, _Enjoy the soup, because, in a week, you might not be able to._

**And chapter! This felt like a bit more of a filler chapter when I wrote it, and I did go back and forth on whether or not to include it. In the end, I decided to keep it, because I do feel like this is an important character chapter, especially for Sam as he finally admits he's not an amnesiac, and is actually from another world (no more juggling that, yay!). Also, writing those Sam, Lucina, and Tiki bits were way too much fun.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a  
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**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Narwhal Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts. We talk about writing, writing tools and advice from our own experiences as writers, fanfiction stuff, and it's honestly a lot of fun. You can find it on Spotify, and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	29. Into the Mouth of Hell

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 28

Into the Mouth of Hell

I hate sand. It's coarse, rough, irritating, and goddammit does it get everywhere. I swear, ever since we entered what remained of Plegia, I've been shaking cold grains of sand out of every article of clothing I had on. Ever tried driving a cart through sand dunes and cracked badlands, while having tiny rocks chafing against your backside? Yeah, it sucks.

But that was not the only thing that has sucked about traveling through this desolate land of sand. The absolute worst thing about this place was the darkness. Once we crossed the border from Western Ylisse into Plegia, the sun disappeared. A side effect of whatever strange magic that was "the Shadow of Grima". For a solid five days we traveled in almost pure darkness, which did little to settle my nerves about this mission. Leave it to the guy who is still a bit afraid of the dark to navigate the cart through enemy territory.

The mood of my companions also dropped as we crossed the threshold from safety into the darkness. Lon'qu was even more quiet than normal. Lucina attempted to appear strong, but her nervous ticks did not escape my notice. She often kneaded Falchion's grip as we rode through the cold, dark, desert. Something she was not doing when we traveled through Ylisse. Donnel's bitterness grew the deeper we delved into the shadowy land, making it so that I rarely spoke to him in order to avoid venomous words in return. Morgan didn't appear to be too affected, but she struggled to sleep. Often, when I was on watch during the night, I would see her tossing and turning at our dark campsite while muttering incoherently in her sleep. Severa's scowls were longer, but also less angry. She appeared more afraid than angry anymore, which was understandable given the circumstances. Tiki appeared to be the only person unaffected by the doom and gloom that permeated every inch of this land. She slept less, but that was the only change in behavior I saw from her. I chalked that up to her choosing to be on guard once we left Ylisse, rather than her feeling well-rested.

As for me, I found myself thinking more and more fatalistically, which worried me. Whenever my mind wandered to the mission, I could only think about how dangerous it was, and the many ways this could all go wrong. It caused my resolve and confidence (what little I had beforehand) to be quite shaken. Thankfully, Tiki seemed to notice these changes in all of us, and she did her best to keep our spirits up. She even went so far as to cook us splendid meals. Three thousand years of living mostly alone lent itself to being an excellent chef.

I worried about how much longer we would have to travel through Plegia. Eventually, even Tiki's efforts to improve our mood would falter, and then… I didn't want to think about what could happen then.

The cart jostled as we passed through the loose sand, making me grit my teeth as I felt Harold snort and struggle to pull us up the latest sand dune. Just as we reached the midway point of the dune though, Tiki, who was sitting beside me this time, reached out and tapped my shoulder.

"Stop here." She whispered, her green eyes flicking to the darkness surrounding us.

I pulled on the reins, bringing the cart to a gentle halt. My eyes followed Tiki's gaze as she looked to the dune's summit. Without a word, she hopped down and donned the hood to her cloak.

"Uh, Tiki?" I whispered as she trudged her way to the top of the dune.

Severa poked her head through the canvass, "What's she doing?"

I shrugged, "I dunno."

Tiki dropped to her hands and knees near the top of the dune. I watched, wide-eyed, as she belly-crawled up the sand to the summit. She paused up there, looking down at whatever lay beyond, before nodding to herself and crawling her way back down. When she returned to us, she brushed some sand from her hair and looked up at me as I remained frozen in my seat.

"We've arrived." She says, her voice hushed.

A pit formed in my gut. I hopped down from my seat, gave Harold a reassuring pat, then stood beside Tiki as a freezing wind whipped over the sand dune. Donnel, Lon'qu, Lucina, Severa, and Morgan strode up alongside me and Tiki, all of them looking up to the top of the dune with nervousness and dread.

I drew in a deep breath.

"Well, time to see what we are dealing with."

I led the way up the hill, with Lon'qu and Donnel flanking me. The kids crept along behind us, and Tiki brought up the rear. When we got near the top, all of us dropped down to our stomachs and crawled to the top. I made sure to draw my hood as we reached the crest of the dune, hoping that the dark hood would disguise me even further in this land of shadows. Morgan followed suit, drawing her dark hood over her head to shield herself from the biting wind and spraying sand. I glanced at everyone around me, stealing myself for what was down below.

What I saw down below made me grimace.

I would not exactly call Doluna a city. It'd be more accurate to call it a husk. Blasted out ruins that have been nearly consumed by drifting sand dunes. What little was visible of the city was a haphazard hodgepodge of dense dwellings, covered in sand, and meandering roads that snaked through the city without any sort of obvious purpose. The city walls were barely intact as well, with parts of them useless due to sand running over them in great hills. What looked like a mountain range made of rock and sand circled the back half of the city. A cold wind swept over the small mountain range, causing small plumes of icy sand to swirl down to the city below.

_Ominous. _I thought, a shuddering breath leaving my lips.

"Alright, scout." Severa muttered. I turned my head to her, "How do you plan on getting us in there?"

I flicked my eyes back down to the city, the pit in my gut turning into a tight knot that twisted hard.

_I'm going to be sick._

"Samwise?" Lucina piped up, keeping her voice low as she nudged my arm.

I crept back from the summit and rolled over onto my back.

"Did anyone see any Risen?" I asked.

Donnel remained near the top. He peered down onto the ruins below, then scrambled back down to us.

"Don't see nothing."

Lucina frowned, "So you see something? There are Risen then?"

"What part of I didn't see nothing don't you understand, Princess?" Donnel replied, as confused as Lucina.

"We get it." I breathed, raising a hand to quiet them both, "No fighting, we've got to work together to make it through this." I exhaled, and let my hand sink back into the sand. My eyes closed as I thought over the situation.

The ruins provided plenty of places to hide as we moved towards the still intact palace. Lots of shadows to hide in, lots of dark corners to get lost in. The layout of the city concerned me since there appeared to be no direct route to the Palace. Which meant it would be difficult to approach without getting lost, turned around, or caught. What worried me next was the complete lack of Risen guarding the city walls. Either Grima was so arrogant that he couldn't conceive of someone striking him where he lived, or the Risen were concealing themselves so that they could ambush any intruders into the city.

While I hoped for the former, I expected the latter. This entire situation reminded me way too much of Port Ferox.

"Unfortunately for us, I expect a trap." I muttered, causing a sharp intake of breath from Morgan.

"What makes you say that?" Severa asked while Morgan nervously glanced up to the top of the dune again.

I heard sand shift from Morgan's direction, but didn't think anything of it as I glanced over to Severa.

"Port Ferox." I replied.

Realization dawned in Severa's eyes. She fell silent and flicked a nervous look over to Donnel and Lon'qu.

"You think the enemy is waiting for us?" Lon'qu asked.

I nodded, "I'd expect that. Why would Grima leave something as important as Sable unguarded?"

"Could be that it is lightly guarded like Lucina was?" Severa replied.

"Do you consider Tharja and Aversa to be light guards?" I replied, making her cheeks heat up with anger as I challenged her idea.

"Well… no." She harrumphed, "But it's not like those two are here so-"

"Never assume something of the enemy." Tiki hummed, "You'll likely be wrong."

"Exactly." I nodded, "Anna and Gaius wouldn't assume either."

Lucina furrowed her brow as she propped herself up on an elbow, "So, the enemy is waiting for us. Where does that leave this mission?"

_Fucked up beyond any recognition? _I thought, but that would not be an appropriate answer. No matter what, we at least had to try and steal Sable. The entire world, and the lives in this world, depended on us succeeding here.

"We need more information." I muttered.

"We don't have the luxury of scouting out this situation." Donnel reminded me, "This is enemy territory. At any time, the enemy can come down on us like a bunch of foxes on a chick coop."

"Well aware." I hissed back, feeling the stress rising in me, "But we need-"

Sand ran down towards us, causing me to freeze in place. I relaxed when Morgan turned out to be the source of the sudden sand-fall, as she scrambled back down to us.

"Good thing I've been doing my reading." She said, a bright smile on her face.

Severa scowled at her, "You've only been reading that spellbook."

"I mean back in Nixtas!" Morgan snapped back, "There might be a secret passage into the palace."

"And if you read about it, then the enemy likely knows about it." I mumbled under my breath.

"Since when can Risen read?" Severa remarked, one brow raised.

"Risen don't, but dark mages do." Tiki replied, her voice still a whisper on the cold wind.

"Exactly." I nodded.

"Fine." Morgan huffed, "Then how do you propose we get in there, scout?"

I recoiled a bit from Morgan's snapping tone, but shrugged it off as her feeling afraid and stressed. We were deep behind enemy lines, in the heart of Grima's territory. For all we knew, we were being watched and didn't know it.

_C'mon Sam, think! You've been trained for this. _I drew in a deep breath as I wracked my brain for a solution. _You may be completely under-qualified for this mission, but you can think of something!_

Port Ferox returned to my mind once more. The horror I felt upon being captured in that fallen place made my stomach flip. I never wanted something like that to happen again, to myself or to my companions. No, not companions, they were all my friends. It was to me to make sure they all got in and out of Doluna safely.

Again, no pressure there.

_How did Gaius… do… it?_

"Hey, does anyone know if Doluna has a sewage system?"

I got blank stares from everyone else. Then, Donnel raised a hand.

"Oh no!" Severa barked, "Hell no! I'm not going through the poop chutes."

"Crap will be long dry by now, Sev." Donnel grunted.

"Doesn't matter, it'll still stink and-"

"And we don't have any other choice." Lucina interjected, "Sir Donnel, how do you know about a sewer system?"

"How do you think your Pops took this city during the first war kiddo?" Donnel remarked, a sly smirk on his lips, "Me, Lon, Gaius, and a group of swordsman went through the sewers when they were still in use. Took the enemy off guard and opened the gates from the inside." Donnel snorted as he wistfully recalled the memory, "Damn brilliant move by Robin…"

My hope at the solution wavered as I recalled who our enemy was. Robin, the very man who led a successful siege of this city in the past, now dwelled within as the human avatar of Grima. I would not put it past that fell-spawn of a man to know that such a weakness existed in his defenses.

Morgan seemed to come to the same conclusion as I did. A long, contemplative frown sat on her lips as she pulled her spellbook out from her coat. She flicked through it, looking for notes she took down of some kind.

"You don't look as confident now, Samwise." Tiki noted.

"He's not confident," Morgan slapped her spellbook closed, and I held my breath.

Was she about to spill the beans about who Grima really is? I hope not. Because then the others will ask how she knows. Which could very easily go down the rabbit hole that winds up with me telling them all about a video game. I already subjected one person to the terrible truth when it comes to that, and I was not keen on doing so twice.

Besides, there was no need to worry about it so long as we succeeded in stealing Sable.

"The enemy will probably know about that weakness as well." Morgan pointed out, "Especially since it's already been used against them once before."

"So what then?" Severa hissed, her irritation growing as her scowl deepened, "Are we back to just hoping we can slink through the streets without getting caught."

"Now that's downright stupid." Donnel commented.

"I-I-" Severa glared over at Donnel, "You calling me something there?"

"Did I say-"

"Shut up, both of you." Lucina snapped, making both of their mouths shut with an audible clomp, "There is a solution to this. Morgan, are you certain there may be a secret passage beneath the mountains?"

Morgan nodded, "Positive. Sam is correct when he says it'll likely be guarded though."

"Risen is nothing we can't handle." Lucina replied, "Samwise, are you certain you can get through the sewers?"

I drew back a little bit, "Yeah. I- uh- did it once already."

"When?" Severa asked, puzzled.

I cringed, "What do you think Gaius took us through in Port Ferox?"

Severa thought for a moment, then her eyes slowly widened. Her face paled and a shiver ran through her entire body.

"Naga, I'm going to be sick."

"Save it for later." Donnel snipped, smacking Severa between the shoulder blades and causing her to cover her mouth with both hands, "Lucy, you sure this is a good idea?"

I furrowed my brow, confused, "What's a good idea?"

Lucina nodded, "We maximize our chances of getting inside the palace if we go for two entrances. It also gives us better options for an exit once we accomplish the objective."

Morgan's face lit up in a bright grin, "Brilliant thinking, Lucy!" She leaned in closer to all of us, "Now, the passage will be bigger, more room to maneuver. Since I know where it might be, I'll lead that group." She looked around at us, "Lon'qu and Lucina will go with me. We should be more than enough to handle any token Risen guarding the passageway." She turned her eyes to me, Severa, and Donnel, "You three will go through the sewers. It shouldn't be too hard to find each other within the palace after that, which will make it easy to link up and search, or to inform the other group if Sable has been found."

"And what shall I do?" Tiki questioned.

Morgan gave Tiki a nervous glance, "You're um… I'm sorry, Lady Tiki, but if you get into a fight and use any of your power, the enemy will notice immediately. We'll need you on the sidelines for this one. You'll stay with the cart, and if things go south, you'll come in for the rescue."

Tiki closed her eyes, "I see. I'm the emergency exit."

"Correct! If we get in trouble inside of the palace, I'll fire two red fireballs into the sky." Morgan continued, "That'll be your signal to level the place."

"L-level?" I paled.

"I won't harm you, Samwise, do not fret." Tiki exhaled, "Just make sure you create some distance before I can blow that cursed building to the ground."

I gulped, "Duly noted."

Severa looked quite unhappy with her role in the plan, but seeing as how we all agreed to Morgan's strategy, she kept her mouth shut. All six of us crept up the enormous dune and looked down at the city one more time. As we peered down, I caught a glimpse of a couple of shadowy forms moving along the ruined walls of Doluna.

"Not empty…" I muttered, biting back a curse at our rotten luck.

"Then that makes it a challenge." Morgan beamed, looking at me with a wide, excited grin, "More fun for us." She tapped Lon'qu and Lucina, and the trio started to move along the sand dunes in order to circle around the city. As they moved away, Morgan winked back at us, "See you all on the inside."

Soon, they were nothing but shadowy silhouettes in the distance before fading beneath the crest of a nearby dune. Once they were gone, I glanced over at Donnel and Severa.

"Anyone else disturbed by how excited Morgan got?"

"She got to make a strategy." Donnel shrugged, "Can't blame her for being happy about that."

"Let's just hope it works, and doesn't end up a repeat of Arena Ferox." Severa grumbled.

Tiki gave Severa a disapproving look, to which the older redhead didn't reply. Severa simply refused to make eye contact with Tiki, leaving me and Donnel to glance at each other, unsure of what to say. So, to break the awkward stillness, I cleared my throat.

"So, that sewer, Donnel?"

"Right!" Donnel scooted along the sand dune, moving towards the southern edge of Doluna, "This way."

"Good luck you three." Tiki said as we moved through the darkness.

I glanced back at the Manakete. A bit of relief filled me as I realized Morgan's plan really did involve her staying behind. Again, if all went according to plan, Tiki wouldn't have to get involved at all. Anna asked me to make sure Tiki made it back safely. She may have passed it off as Tiki being important to the army and morale, but after learning the origins of Anna's broach, and speaking to both of them about their animosity towards each other, I knew the real reason behind Anna's request.

_You act like you don't care, Anna. But deep down you do. _I drew my hood over my head, drowning my body in dark shadows, _I'll do my best._

I nodded to Tiki, turned, and crept after Donnel and Severa, ready to begin the most dangerous heist of my life.

* * *

One of the run-offs for the Doluna sewage system, and the only one Donnel actually knew about, was located along the southern edge of the sand-covered city. It wasn't anything fancy, or even conspicuous. Nothing more than a grate, with a small hole sawed through it from when Donnel, Gaius, and Lon'qu used it to sneak into the palace years ago. I could hardly believe our luck that the hole in the grate was still there.

We carefully approached the partially buried run-off, which rested at the bottom of the cracked, sandstone walls. Thankfully, the few Risen guarding the walls that we saw from the sand dunes were not as numerous as we feared. It was simple to slip past their watch, since they were barely intelligent enough to conduct an effective watch anyways. My guess is that they were there to prevent any insane thieves and bandits from thinking they could get lucky and raid from any of Grima's "alleged" treasures.

_Would Grima keep treasure? _I wondered as all three of us pressed our bodies against the walls. The coarse stone scraped against my clothing as we slid along it towards the broken sewer grate.

_Is he like any other dragon, in that they like to hoard shiny objects? _I thought about that a moment as we reached the sewer. _Then again, the only other dragons I personally know prefer books to gold. And they also have human bodies… I think Tolkien's rules no longer apply here._

Donnel took the lead into the sewer, his sword drawn. Severa slipped in next, her nose wrinkling in disgust as we entered the sand drowned tunnel beneath Doluna's southern wall. I brought up the rear of our little group. My feet sank into a mound of soft sand, as the shadows enveloped me, leaving me nearly blind, with only the swaying shadows of Severa's twin-tails serving as a guide for me.

The soft desert sand muffled our footsteps, making all three of us move with all the silence of three blind mice through the darkness. I vaguely had the sensation of going down as the sand sloped beneath me, but I didn't pay much attention to it. So long as Donnel led us in the right direction, then I did not care if it sloped up, down, or eventually did a loop-de-loop.

Overall, this sewer was a cakewalk compared to the one in Port Ferox. I mean, I wasn't wading through piss and shit this time, so that was a nice improvement. Although, the smell remained.

_Years of working with fertilizer, and years of this place being void of life help mask it. _I reminded myself.

"Ugh…" Severa whispered in front of me, "It reeks down here. Morgan sent me here on purpose."

"Considering ya've been kinda an asshole to her lately, wouldn't surprise me." Donnel whispered back to her.

"Well, she deserved it, and you know it." Severa hissed back, and I rolled my eyes behind her.

I would've said something about forgiving siblings, family is the most important thing in life, yada yada yada. But truth be told, I didn't exactly live up to that in my old home either. I had one sibling, and we fought often. More often than not, we let the bitter feelings fester between us rather than reconcile. Because of that, I didn't think it was my place to comment on Severa's relationship with Morgan. Besides, their fight was far less petty than the ones I would have with my sister.

"She's remorseful enough as it is." Donnel pointed out as I saw Severa move left, down a bend in the sewer.

"Yeah, yeah, Lucy said the same thing." Severa replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Morgan even got all teary eyed earlier." She sniffed, "Like I believe any of that. Morgan's never been sorry for anything. Never had to be." She finished with a low grumble, probably hoping none of us would hear her.

Unfortunately for her, this tunnel echoes a little bit, and I heard her loud and clear.

"Golden child huh?" I remarked, before realizing I said that out loud. I snapped my mouth closed and ground to a halt as Severa wheeled around on me.

"You!" Severa hissed, "Shut up."

I drew back, "You know, I haven't said anything at all until now."

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask for your input." Severa retorted.

"Hey dumbasses, keep up." Donnel snapped, his voice like a biting whip through the quiet tunnel, "We ain't got time for you two to bicker."

Severa huffed, then kept marching. The tunnel snaked beneath Doluna for a long while after that. No light penetrated the darkness, not even when I felt fresh air slipping into the tunnel from over our heads, due to the many sewer grates in the city streets. Grima's Shadow consumed all light, and it only made my anxiety grow.

After several more agonizing moments of walking, we came upon a fork in the tunnel. Donnel paused, his head slowly turning to look at both tunnels.

"Well shit." I heard him curse.

"Don't tell me," Severa grumbled in front of me, "We're lost."

"We ain't lost." Donnel replied, "Just give me a moment."

"We don't exactly have a moment." Severa replied, folding her arms in front of her.

"I know that!" Donnel snapped, making Severa take a step back.

She moved alongside me, watching with me as Donnel looked back and forth between the two tunnels in front of us. After a few moments of debate, Donnel glanced to the tunnel on the left, and nodded.

"This way."

"How can you tell?" I asked as Severa and I followed him.

Donnal glanced back at me, and I vaguely saw him smirk through the shadows. For a moment, I was confused. Then the smell hit me. My nose wrinkled, my stomach flipped, and I gagged hard.

"Oh God!" I gasped, quickly deciding to hold my breath.

"Naga above!" Severa exclaimed, slapping a hand over her nose and mouth.

"Fresh shit." Donnel chuckled, "I'd reckon anyone living in this city lives in the palace. Rule of thumb, knuckleheads, always follow your nose."

"I'll gladly forget that rule." Severa grumbled as the sand beneath us began to slope upwards.

As we went up, the dry, coarse sand turned into softer, clay-like soil. Like the kind of sand you would see along the beach when the tide comes in. That realization did little to settle my stomach. As if to confirm my worst suspicions, the stench within the tunnel grew worse.

"We're stepping in it." Severa whined.

"Yup." I replied.

"Quit your whining." Donnel hissed over his shoulder, "And quiet down, both of ya, I have a feeling we're nearly there."

Sure enough, a fresh blast of cold wind rushed through the tunnel, smacking me across the face like an icy hand. The tunnel felt and smelled damper with each step. Soon, the tunnel leveled off, and a series of grates appeared over our heads. Donnel paused to take a peek up one, and smiled.

"Torchlight." He whispered to us, "One of you two get over here and move the grate. We're in the basement now."

Severa stepped forward, and thankfully so. I doubted my scrawny arms could get the heavy, iron grate over our heads to budge. She gripped the round bars, paused a moment to listen for anyone, or anything, nearby, then lifted. A small grunt slipped from her lips, before it was drowned out by the sound of the grate scraping against a stone floor. All three of us froze, waiting for the inevitable sound of footsteps coming to investigate the strange noise in the Palace basement.

After several seconds of holding our collective breaths, no one came. Severa drew in a deep breath, and pushed the grate to the side with one final shove. She hopped up out of the sewer, and reached a hand down to Donnel. Once Donnel was out, Severa hauled me out of the tunnel.

"Alright," I whispered, glancing around an empty privy, "what now?"

Severa shrugged, "You're the expert."

_That's a terrifying thought._

"Well," I pursed my lips, "would there be a vault of some kind in this place?"

"Dunno." Donnel remarked, "Probably should've checked with Morgan about that, but it's too late now."

"If there is a vault, wouldn't it be on this level?" Severa pointed out.

"Near the dungeons and storage?" I replied, then jabbed a thumb back at the tunnel we came out of, "As well as an easy means of entry, all things considered? Nah, makes no sense."

"With how common thieves were in old Plegia, having the vault down here would make easy pickings." Donnel agreed, "Gaius probably would've had stories of breaking into the Palace vault then."

Severa bobbed her head, "Fair point there." She put her hands on her hips, "So, where do we start?"

I rubbed my chin, "Grima's top followers live here right? So, what if one of them is personally keeping an eye on Sable?"

Donnel nodded, "Not a bad idea, but there are dozens of rooms in here. We also still need to link up with Morgan, Lucina, and Lon at some point."

"We can focus on that last part." Severa pointed out, turning to look at me, "Donnel and I aren't thieves. You technically are. It'll be easier for you to break into the places where Sable might be."

I swallowed hard at that, "Split up then?" I drew in a deep breath, "You both sure that's a good idea?"

"I ain't a strategist." Donnel commented as he inched towards the privy entry. He peeked out into the dimly lit corridor beyond, "But I'd say we'd cover more ground that way. Besides, we ain't sneakers, Sam. You are. You'd work better on your own in this instance. Can ya handle that?"

"And if nothing else," Severa followed up, "we'll manage to provide a pretty good distraction while you search."

I gulped, "Yeah, well… hopefully it doesn't come to that."

I slipped over to Donnel's side and peaked out to the corridor. I sucked in a deep breath, letting out a long exhale as my nerves threatened to leave me a shaking mess on the floor. Wandering alone, in the dark corridors of Grima's palace was the last thing I wanted to do. But I did not have much of a choice. Both Donnel and Severa were right in their points. We needed to somehow link up with Morgan and the others, and we needed to strengthen our odds of locating Sable. Splitting up was the best option.

Those facts still didn't help shake the bad feeling I had in my gut.

"Guess I'll go up?" I muttered, slipping out into the corridor.

"Meet back here if you can." Donnel hissed to me, causing me to turn and look at him and Severa one more time, "If ya can't, and ya find Sable, just get back here anyways and get back to the cart."

_"Complete the mission," _Gaius's voice echoed in my mind, "_By any means necessary."_

I gave Donnel and Severa a grave nod, turned, and moved through the corridor's shadows towards a flight of stairs at the end of the dim hall. There was no need to exchange goodbyes. I really didn't want to anyway. Saying goodbye gave me a sense of finality. Of never seeing those two ever again. If that were the case, then either I would end up dead, or they would. The last thing I wanted to do was jinx this mission with my words. I may be called Lucky, but with how many wounds I've sustained since arriving here, I don't really feel like it. Better to not test the theory.

I crept my way up the stairwell out of the palace's basement. The stairs led to a series of dim corridors, where even more shadows abounded. Thankfully, I could use that to my advantage. My dark cloak allowed me to blend into the darkness along the walls, and hide in the many nooks and crannies within these walls. It would be difficult for even a normal human to see me, much less a Risen.

Still, I proceeded through the halls, and up another flight of empty stairs with caution. My feet glided over the ice-cold stone floors as I peeked into one cavernous room after another. At one point, I even managed to stumble upon the throne room and main hall. At one time, that place must've been a sight to see. Massive sandstone pillars ascended up into an enormous ceiling. Between each pillar rested great windows that at one time allowed the brilliant Plegian sun to pour into the palace. A luxurious purple rug ran the length of the hall up to a throne made of jagged, black stone. Beyond seeing those impressive features, I decided not to stick around there. Too easy to be spotted in an open room like that.

Eventually, I wandered to the next set of stairs, and carefully walked up them once more. As I entered the second floor of the palace, I noticed the much more subdued nature of this floor. The palace wasn't gargantuan in nature. The ceilings were very tall, making it look much taller than the stories would say. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that there was a rooftop terrace of some sort above me, and I doubted Grima would be hiding Sable there.

That means this floor is it. Unless Severa and Donnel somehow stumbled on Sable in a different wing or floor of the palace, then it will be here. I stepped towards the first room on the left, doing my best to stay away from the floor to ceiling windows that lined the wall to the right.

The door to that room hardly squeaked as I nudged it open. A quick peek inside, and nothing. Just a dusty old bedroom, with peeling paint on the walls and ancient furniture. Probably hasn't been used in years, decades even.

I carefully shut the door, and tiptoed my way to the next door. That room was the same. A long frown formed on my face as I looked down the long corridor of the obvious living quarters for the palace. The stench in the sewers said that there were people living here, as did the burning sconces along the walls. So why did this place seem so abandoned?

Before I could even think about that further, footsteps echoed from the stairs behind me. I froze, and waited a moment, hoping that maybe they were moving towards the ground floor and not towards me.

No such luck. The door to this wing of the palace creaked as it opened, and I bolted into the closest room. Somehow, I managed to keep my composure long enough to gently shut the door behind me. Once it closed, I pressed my back to it, and slid down to a seat. My heart raced a million miles an hour as I heard those footsteps shamble past my door. From what I heard, it sounded like two- no- three people. Maybe it was Morgan's group?

Before I could bother to look out the door and find out, I heard something that made my heart stop in my chest.

"Well now, this night just became interesting."

**And chapter! This turns out to be the shortest chapter in this story, but I don't mind actually. Mostly because I've been taking story advice recently from a fellow FE author, Stormtide Leviathan (He has both a 3H Story, _Stolen Remedy_, and an Awakening story, _A Wyvern's Tale_. Check them out, they are excellent!), which is "Less filler, more killer". So, this chapter was kinda my first attempt at that, hopefully it turned out well. Anyways, we've got some shit going down in the story now, and next chapter is going to be good. Ya'll ain't ready (evil laugh).**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

**Also, come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**And, come check out the_ Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, Narwhal Lord, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts, and we discuss various fanfiction stuff, writing advice, and even review stories from time to time. You can find the podcast on Spotify and Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	30. End of a Deadly Game

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 29

End of a Deadly Game

His voice sent a bone-chilling crawl up and down my spine. Like a set of frozen claws scraping along the skin and bone, making me shiver where I stood. I kept my back turned to the voice, too terrified to turn around and confirm my worst fear. My hands trembled at my sides. My muscles remained tense, ready to spring my body into action so I could flee this place. But would I get far? No, and I knew I would not. It is impossible to outrun this person. Not when his sights were set on me.

I had two options: attempt to flee through the door in front of me, and almost certainly be caught and killed by whatever stalked the halls beyond, or turn around and face the monster behind me.

Before I could decide, a dark power crept through the room, making the air freeze. My breath misted in front of me as panic laced gasps rushed through my lips. A dark growl slipped into my ears, causing my hair to stand on end. The power retreated as I heard the voice behind me utter a small sound of disapproval.

"Now's not the time for that." He muttered. Then he addressed me again, "Please, turn around. It's quite rude to have your back turned to someone when speaking, no?"

The decision has been made for me. I drew in a deep breath, remembering how Anna told me to keep a level head. Panicking now will get me killed. My throat felt tight as I swallowed my fear, letting it settle like a heavy stone in my gut as I did my best to put on a brave face. Carefully, I turned around.

There he stood, the figure of nightmares that I hoped I would never come face to face with. He looked exactly as he did in Arena Ferox. A black and purple coat rested over his shoulders, with faint gold accents along the fringes of the sleeves and body. Red eyes shimmered in the darkness, staring at me like small pools of fresh blood. His white hair, as pale as freshly fallen snow, sat beneath a deep hood that shadowed out the rest of his face. A lone candle burned on a table beside the rich, purple chair he sat in. And a thick book, some sort of magical volume, rested in his lap, open.

His thin lips parted into a smile as I stared in terror.

"I wonder…" He gently closed the book in his lap, "That fear written on your face, is it because you know who speaks to you?"

I swallowed hard, mouth dry. Words failed to form on my tongue, and all I could manage was a small croak. The man snorted, amused.

"I'll take that as a yes."

I sucked in a sharp breath as one pale hand with long fingers rose from his lap. A few puffs of purple fire burst to life on his fingertips. My heart hammered in my chest as I waited for those small fireballs to hit me.

Instead, they lazily drifted away from his raised hand, eventually settling onto several candles arranged on tables in the room. Four more appeared on his hand, and they traveled up to a small chandelier above us. The combined amount of faint light allowed me to see more clearly, and I could make out the finer details of the room around me.

Clearly, a lived-in space. The resplendent indigo and gold sheets on the large bed off to the side were a bundled up mess. A fireplace sat cold and dark opposite of the bed. A few tables littered the floor along the walls with several chairs next to them. Beyond the man sitting in a chair near the fireplace were two windowed doors leading out to a small balcony that overlooked the dead city of Doluna.

"Not what I was expecting." He muttered, scrutinizing my shaking form further, "I figured the person who would have the nerve to break into my home would be taller."

I swallowed hard again, "S-sorry to disappoint."

An amused sound came from the man. His red eyes flicked up and down over my rigid form again. Then he held out a hand to the chair across the small table.

"Take a seat."

Not like I had much of a choice. Death waited for me no matter which action I took, yet I still wracked my brain for a way out of this. Could I outrun the wrath of this monster if I turned and jetted out the door? How about if I dove out the window and-

A glossy sheen inside of the man's coat caught my eye, and I managed to catch a glimpse of a smooth, black orb hidden within his coat.

_Well, aren't I lucky?_

I sank down into the chair across from the monster, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath as I calmed my racing heart. When I opened my eyes, I saw the monster had pulled out a chessboard, placed it on the table, and started setting pieces. An excited gleam glistened in his red eyes as he glanced up at me while placing black pawns down on the board.

"Are you familiar with this game?"

I rubbed my thighs, "Vaguely."

A thin smirk spread over his pale lips, "Vaguely, hm?" He set up his knights next, "Do you at least know the setup?"

I thinned my lips and nodded.

"Good, place your pieces."

And I did as he commanded. It took every ounce of willpower I had to keep my hands from shaking as I placed my White King and Queen on the board, followed by the bishops, the knights, and the rooks. Finally, I set up my pawns, then looked down at a read to play game of Chess.

"So, Thief," The man reached out and moved his first pawn, "you know who I am, but I do not know you." His red eyes studied me as I furrowed my brow down at my own pieces, "Where do you come from?"

"Um…" I gulped, my hand hovering over a pair of pawns near the center of my formation, "I'm from a land of snow-"

"So Ferox."

"And a land of sunlight," I continued, and I saw his brow furrow, "I'm from where stars shine innumerable but are unseen. I come from a land far above, and I come from a land down under."

I retracted my hand from the pawns and moved one of my knights over my front line. My opponent drew back, regarding my move with quiet contemplation.

"Stars innumerable, but unseen?" He sniffed, "Hardly narrows it down. But a land of sunlight and snow? A land above, and down under? Intriguing indeed, thief." He ran a hand over his pale chin and moved another pawn forward, two spaces instead of one.

Before he could continue, I spoke up again, "Well um… it's a land where all is known and yet mysteries abound." He arched an eyebrow, and I gulped, "A land that stretches from sea to shining sea, and-"

He raised a hand, "Enough about where you are from." His hands folded in front of him as his elbows rested on his legs. Those blood-red eyes flicked over the board as he waited for my next move.

The other white knight marched over the pawns, and his eyes lit up.

"Aggressive." He mused, looking at my side of the board before glancing at his. Without any hesitation, one of his bishops surged free from the backline, pausing before it could get into any danger, "So you are not Valmese, nor are you Feroxi, or Ylissean, certainly not Plegian. The enigma grows stranger."

"Well, I am a stranger in a strange land." I countered, studying the board as well, "Oh Grima the Malevolent. "

Another white pawn ventured forth, and I cursed myself as I saw it was in the black bishop's path.

A quiet chuckle came from Grima, "Flattery already?" His bishop took my pawn, "I smell desperation."

"Or you smell the lollipop in my back pocket?" I replied, trying to keep the devil entertained. I wouldn't be able to give him much of a challenge at chess, not with my attention diverted to trying to find an escape from this situation.

"Lollipop?" Grima's eyes sparked, "What flavor?"

"Um… cherry?"

"Ah," Grima leaned back in his seat, "A protege of Gaius then?" My heart froze in my chest, "Tell me, how is that wily scoundrel doing?"

Anger shot through me, instead of fear, as his question hung in the air over the chessboard. This monster had the gall to ask me how Gaius was doing?

"He's dead," I replied, bitterness lacing my voice.

Grima's eyes widened, "Is he?" He fell strangely quiet, leaning forward in his seat once more so he could study the board. Once more, he moved a pawn forward, clearing space for his other bishop to move, "A shame, I always liked him."

"Didn't like him enough apparently." I spat back.

"Oh?" Grima looked up at me, and fear returned to my heart, stealing the breath from my lungs as those red eyes narrowed dangerously, "You two were close. So why have I never heard of you?"

I gave him a fearful shrug, "I've never been that important."

_Pawn forward two spaces. My rook is free to move now._

"And yet here you are, in my home." Grima replied, "Quite an important place for an unimportant thief. You've also kept important company. The kind of company that rarely ventures beyond their borders alone." My heart jumped to my throat as his knight moved forward, "So, who's holding your hand?"

I snorted, "I think I'm old enough to not need hand-holding."

"I didn't notice," Grima remarked. I moved my knight up a row, "Do you even have a plan?"

I cringed and looked down at my board. While I've played chess before, I was by no means an expert. Actually, I wouldn't even say I was good at it. I could beat the computer on easy mode, and that only happened about fifty percent of the time I played. So, with how casual of a player I was, I never went in with any sort of plan.

"Do I look like the kinda guy with a plan?" I asked.

That made Grima guffaw, and my eyes widened.

_I made Grima laugh._

"A well-made point," Grima breathed between laughs, "You are at least an honest thief." He moved his other knight forward, and I pursed my lips, running a hand along my chin as I pondered what to do next.

"You still haven't answered my question." Grima pointed out.

I raised my green eyes and met his red ones. Fear lanced through my gut as I stared into those blood-red discs looking back at me. I felt my throat constrict as I beheld a being of pure wickedness in front of me. Sweat formed in the creases of my palms, which I quickly rubbed off on my pants. The terror I felt caused me to tear my eyes away from Grima's, and down into his coat, where I saw the prize of my mission staring back at me.

"Oh…" Grima drawled, lounging back in his seat. I froze as he withdrew Sable from his robes.

The gemstone was as black as onyx, and as glossy as anything I had ever laid eyes upon. If pitch-black could be condensed down into a single object, then Sable would be it. I felt an uneasy tension wash over me as I stared at the orb. There was something strange about it. Gules gave me a feeling of strength and revitalization. That gemstone was probably the only reason I survived my escape from Arena Ferox. Sable, however, gave me a strange feeling of emptiness. As if no power actually rested within the powerful artifact.

"You want this, don't you?" Grima continued, turning the orb over in his hands, "You were sent here to take this precious object from me. The last piece to the Naga-spawns' puzzle." He shook his head, and placed the orb back into his robes, "I find it laughable that the Shepherds believe someone as common as you can handle it."

My throat bobbed, "Well, I doubt I'll be the one holding onto that thing. I can be a bit of a klutz."

"Indeed," Grima agreed, "you're clearly not a reliable enough thief to handle it on your own. After all, you've already been caught."

"Well, I never said I was a good thief." I countered.

"But good enough to get this far." Grima replied, "No… not good enough. You have enough help. How could you have-" He paused and sniffed the air. My eyes closed, and I cursed myself, "So, the sewers? Clever, but not clever enough."

My hand hovered over my chess pieces, trembling with fear. How long did I have before Grima's amusement with me ended? More importantly, how could I keep it going until I figured out how to snatch Sable, or get out of here alive.

Before I could figure out the solution, Grima let out a sigh.

"If I move my queen now, I'd beat you in three moves." Boredom became more evident on his face, "A shame, I thought this would be interesting." A lump formed in my throat as his red eyes narrowed at me, "I suppose this is the end for you."

Faster than I could react, faster than I could even blink, he surged forward, one hand grasping me by the throat and hoisting me up out of my chair. My eyes bulged from my skull as I felt his fingers tighten around my windpipe. I fought to get air into my lungs, but none came. Both of my hands swatted at Grima's arm holding me up, but to no avail.

I couldn't break free. I couldn't break his hold. I wasn't strong enough. What could I do against a harbinger of death and decay?

_Wait a moment! _I thought, feeling his fingers tighten further, but not feeling claws or nails sink into my skin, _He's not a dragon right now._

The first lesson on combat Gaius taught me raced through my mind, and I managed to look Grima in the eye.

"Any last words, thief?"

His fingers relaxed slightly, allowing me to croak out something.

"Fight… dirty…" I gasped.

Grima arched an eyebrow, failing to notice my right foot swing back. I swung my boot hard, and Grima's face scrunched up in sudden pain. His grip on my throat slackened, and I fell to a heap onto the cold, stone floor.

Adrenaline shot through my veins, dulling any pain I felt from nearly choking to death, and falling hard to the floor. I scrambled to my feet and tackled Grima to the ground. As he howled, enraged, my hand slipped into his coat and snatched Sable. I managed to land a sharp blow against his forehead with my elbow, before rolling off of him and sprinting for the balcony doors.

I didn't bother to try and open the doors, there was no time. Not with a furious dragon ready to rip me apart with his bare hands. I kept sprinting, jumped, and crashed through the glass doors, wincing as several sharp shards of glass gashed my arms, legs, and right cheek. Static built up in the air around me as I reached the stone railing. Just as I hopped over it, pivoting in to swing through the set of windows below the balcony, a bolt of yellow lightning rushed towards me.

I jerked to the right, and the bolt burrowed into my left shoulder, shifting my momentum and causing me to twirl out of control through the window. More glass bit into my body as I hit, then rolled, along the floor of the Plegian Throneroom. A pillar stopped my out of control roll across the floor, and the pungent stench of charred flesh smacked me across the face.

A long groan left my lips as some of the adrenaline died off. Sharp, burning pain flooded my shoulder. I glanced over at my shoulder and saw bits of leather from my jerkin seared into blackened skin. I tore my gaze away from it, before I could feel any sicker than I already felt, and pushed myself to my feet.

Dizziness slammed into me, and I leaned up against the pillar. A quick shake of my head banished the dizziness, and allowed me to take a step forward… right into the waiting edge of a long blade.

The edge kissed my throat, and I froze, not even daring to inhale. I stared at the blade, with wide eyes, then I recognized the strange shape of Falchion.

"L-Lucina?"

"Oh Naga, Samwise!" Lucina cried, quickly lowering Falchion from my throat. An embarrassed flush rushed over her cheeks, "I'm so sorry I-"

"No time!" I exclaimed as I noticed both Lon'qu and Morgan waiting right behind her, ready to pounce. Without a second thought, I tossed Sable over to Morgan, whose eyes widened as she juggled the onyx gem in her hands.

"You actually… Naga above, Samwise, you did it!" Morgan gasped, her red eyes staring down into Sable with a strange reverence.

"Yeah, yeah," I gasped, panic rising in me, "Less talking, more running."

"Why do we-"

"Morgan!" I snapped, startling her, Lucina, and causing Lon'qu to arch an eyebrow, "We. Need. To. Run."

It took her a moment, but the fear etched on my face must've gotten the message across. The color drained from her face, and she shoved Sable into her coat.

"Time to go!" She declared, spinning on her heel and rushing for a door hidden behind the black throne.

I rushed after her. Lucina and Lon'qu's rapid footfalls chased after me. As Morgan was about to barrel through the door, it swung out, knocking her off to the side, and causing me to come face to face with something I wasn't interested in seeing again.

A towering figure, clad in all black armor glowered down at me with burning red eyes. I could see my reflection in polished, black steel as I stared dumbfounded into the monster's breastplate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his right-hand move, not towards the enormous claymore on his back, but towards my face. Thin fingers grabbed me by the face, and tossed me back into Lucina like a rag doll. The Princess and I landed next to the throne, a tangled mess of limbs and curses. The sound of steel clashing against steel rang through the cavernous throne room, and I looked up to see Lon'qu engaging the Deadlord known as Vykrik.

"Get up, Samwise!" Lucina grunted, hooking me by the shoulders yanking me to my feet.

I hissed as searing pain shot through my wounded shoulder, but quickly recovered as a swarm of Risen burst through the door behind Vykrik, surging towards me, Morgan, and Lucina. Lon'qu and Vykrik drifted away from the door as their duel grew more furious, each one trading titanic blows that made Lon'qu's arms rattle.

A blast of powerful lightning speared a pair of Risen, giving Morgan room to sprint towards us. Lucina and I twirled around, coming face to face with the swiftest Risen through the door behind the throne.

Lucina's blade, Falchion, hissed through the cold air, cutting down the first Risen to get close to us. My own combat training kicked in, and I drew my kukri and short dagger as Lucina moved to take on the next Risen. She caught an overhand slash from the Risen's ax, and I buried my kukri between the rusting plates of armor the undead monster wore. Lucina severed the monster's rotting head from its body, its crumbling body allowing my kukri to break free from its armor.

I spun around Lucina, swiping at the next Risen with my kukri. Lucina let out a roar as she spun with me, dismembering the Risen in front of me, before twirling back around and charging towards Lon'qu and Vykrik.

"Wait, Luci-" My words lodged in my throat as I heard metal hiss near my ear, causing me to stumble to the side as a rusting blade narrowly missed taking my head off. Another Risen raised its sword to cleave me in two. I tried to step back, only to bump into Morgan. My eyes widened, and, with nowhere to run, I swung my kukri up to meet the Risen's strike.

Shock-waves ran up and down my arm, making my hand sting, as the sound of steel slamming together rang in my ear. Training kicked in, and I jammed my short dagger right up through the Risen's jaw. A vicious snarl hissed from the Risen, and it's rancid breath washed over my face. Somehow, the terror I felt turned into fury, and I snarled back, twisting the dagger inside of the Risen's skull then yanking it hard to the side. The blade tore through bone and strips of leathery flesh, yanking it's jawbone free and causing it to stumble to the side. With a cry, I jerked my kukri back and buried it into the Risen's neck. The monster stiffened, sagged, then faded into a pile of black ash at my feet.

As I turned to face the next Risen, goosebumps formed on my skin, and a lightning bolt flashed over my shoulder, nearly blinding me. The bolt slammed into the nearest Risen, then branched out from it, felling two more nearby.

"Get to Lucina!" Morgan barked to me, a ball of orange fire pooling in the palm of her free hand, "I'll clear a way out."

_Wait, she wants me to help Lucina and Lon'qu?_

I turned towards the throne, and paled. Lon'qu and Lucina were both fighting on their back foot, each nearly losing their footing as they retreated from the Deadlord's fury. Vykrik's enormous claymore cut terrifying swaths through the air, making me wonder how the hell Lon'qu and Lucina were managing to parry the vicious strikes.

"Move, Samwise!" Morgan shouted, more lightning crackling in her hand as she twirled to strike the next trio of Risen rushing at us.

I swallowed my fear, and rushed ahead towards the throne, kukri in my right hand and short dagger in my left. Lucina and Lon'qu reached the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne as I reached them. I noticed a Risen about to stab Lucina through the back, and surged to defend her. My kukri lopped off the Risen's rotting sword hand before his blade could slash into Lucina. The clattering of rusting metal on the floor startled Lucina, and gave Vykrik an opening to backhand her away.

"Lucina!" Lon'qu cried.

Before he could move towards her, Vykrik drew back with his claymore, feinted, then buried his fist into Lon'qu's gut when the swordsman fell for the fake-out.

I froze where I stood, unsure of what to do. My eyes darted back and forth between Lucina and Lon'qu. Lucina reeled on the floor, shaking fog from her mind as Risen descended on her. Meanwhile, Lon'qu shambled backward, blood pooling between his fingers as he held his gut. The punch from Vykrik far more devastating than I initially believed. Behind me, Morgan's spells exploded out from her hand, pulverizing the Risen that attempted to cut off our route of escape from the throne room. She wasn't able to turn around and help.

A terrible feeling settled in my gut, and I had no more time to think of what to do. I saw Lon'qu manage to land a glancing blow against Vykrik's helmet, making the Deadlord snarl.

_He's fine. Lucina's more important._

I rushed to Lucina as she got to her hands and knees. A Risen raised its ax, and she looked up at it in horror, expecting the rusted blade to take her head from her shoulders.

The blow didn't land. My kukri slashed through the ax's wooden handle, throwing off the Risen's momentum. It stumbled forward a couple of steps. Lucina raised Falchion, and the Risen impaled itself upon the blade. With a snarl, she shoved the Risen's crumbling body from her weapon, nodded her thanks to me, and turned back around to help Lon'qu.

She took a step forward, I moved to guard her back, then my heart lurched to my throat as I heard her utter a horrified scream.

I whipped my head around, and all my strength threatened to leave my body. Vykrik had broken Lon'qu's blade, and, with the swordsman unable to defend himself, thrust his claymore up through his abdomen, lifting him off of his feet as Lon'qu's dying gasps rattled from his lungs.

_No, no, no._

Lucina rushed towards Vykrik. The Deadlord glanced at her, an icy stare that saw her as nothing more than an insignificant insect buzzing around him. He swung his claymore, flinging Lon'qu's body into Lucina. Quiet gurgling sounds came from Lon'qu as his blood pooled onto Lucina, and the floor.

Instincts kicked in as another door into the throne room burst open. I didn't bother to look, thinking more Risen had entered through another door. I grabbed Lucina by the arm, keeping her from charging at Vykrik.

"We need to go!" I cried as she struggled against my grip.

"I'm going to kill him!" Lucina roared.

She tore her arm free from my grip, took a step towards Vykrik, only to be by a strong arm, with no hand, wrapping around her waist and yanking her away from the looming Deadlord.

"Time to get out of here!" Donnel bellowed, yanking Lucina back, spinning her around, and shoving her towards the narrow path Morgan managed to clear.

Severa sprinted past us, blade drawn. She glided alongside Morgan, slashing through a Risen that caught her sister off guard.

"Pay attention." Severa growled, already moving towards the next Risen in her path and slashing it to pieces.

"Oh forgive me for being more focused on getting us out of here alive!" Morgan spat back, twirling to her right and unleashing a torrent of flames into a group of four Risen. Once her spell ended, she stumbled back into Severa, heavy breaths leaving her lips. She shook her head, turned, and sprinted towards the throneroom's enormous double doors, which led out to the palace courtyard.

We ran that deadly gauntlet, none of us looking back at Vykrik charging after us. Severa reached the heavy doors first, her armored shoulder plowing into them and forcing them open with one powerful push. Morgan and I raced through next, followed by Lucina and Donnel.

The searing pain in my shoulder grew worse as I sprinted through the courtyard. My feet rose and fell in heavy, unwieldy steps, often getting bogged down in the loose sand littering what was once a glittering symbol of Plegia's might. We ran around the cracked shell of an old stone fountain, and made a mad dash for the gates out of the palace.

A trio of Risen archers turned towards us from atop the walls around the palace. Beside them, two dark mages charged spells. Morgan sucked in a weary breath, charged a ball of green energy in her hand, and sent a whip of sharpened wind at the two dark mages.

An immense bang rang out as the spell missed the mages, but hit the stone beneath them, shattering the wall they stood on. Bits of stone rained down on me as we sprinted through the cloud of dust and smoke caused by Morgan's errant spell.

One body wearing dark robes smacked into the sand next to me, bloodied and beaten, bits of their flesh torn apart by stone shrapnel. I couldn't see where the Risen archers or the other mage were, and I didn't care. We could not afford to get bogged down in a fight anymore. The infiltration part of this mission was over, the escape from certain death part had begun.

There was one problem with our mad dash of an escape. The gate in front of us, a solid wall of wood reinforced with steel, was shut. I found this out when Morgan and Severa both ground to a halt, and I failed to notice, resulting in me body slamming into the immense gates.

"Out of Morgan's way." Severa snapped at me, yanking my dazed body back from the gates as a red, magical circle formed in front of Morgan's outstretched palm, "Hurry Morgan!"

An arrow whistled nearby, making me duck my head. Two more arrows hissed through the air, and I heard Donnel utter a pained grunt behind me as one struck him.

"Someone's gonna have to carry me." Morgan gasped as bright red flames licked against her fingertips. I managed to catch a glimpse of the page she was looking at in her spellbook, and saw the name "arc-fire", as well as a complex series of glyphs, runes, and directions on it.

The biggest fireball I had seen in my life erupted from Morgan's hand, slamming into the gates and shattering them with one mighty crack. Flaming chunks of wood sprayed out from the broken gates, tearing into the group of Risen grunts guarding the other side.

Severa and Lucina rushed through the gates first, their blades making quick work of any Risen blocking our path. Donnel followed them, an arrow protruding from his right side. Morgan, meanwhile, slumped backward into me, completely drained.

"Oh great!" I winced, catching Morgan, "Leave the smallest of us to carry the wounded person."

"Let's go, Samwise!"

As if Severa's snapping wasn't enough to get me moving, I heard an ear-piercing shriek behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, and paled as Vykrik stalked out from the palace, a horde of Risen at his back.

Ignoring all pain, I shifted Morgan towards my back, squatted, and heaved her up onto my shoulders. I've never done a fireman carry before, but considering my arms are equal to wet noodles, this is the only way I could possibly carry her while running for my life.

Morgan incoherently mumbled on my back as I rushed after the others. We didn't get too far before the earth began to rumble. I stumbled as the earth rolled beneath my feet, but managed to keep my balance. All of us surged into one of the few city squares in the maze that was Doluna. As we entered the square, Donnel took the lead, beckoning us to follow him towards a road that led east.

Right when we reached the road's beginning, the earth rolled again, and a deep rumble rattled through the air, making the shattered husks of buildings around us tremble. This time, the shaking managed to trip me up. I fell to a knee, trying my best to keep Morgan from hitting the ground as well. Donnel spun back around. Whether he was going to berate me, or assist me, I did not know, because before he could do anything his jaw fell open. For the first time, I saw terror enter Donnel's eyes.

The earth shook and cracked around us. I forced myself back to my feet, stumbling to and fro towards Donnel. The Knight stared behind me, dumbstruck and horrified. Puzzled, I turned around as well.

The mountains around Doluna moved, creating an avalanche of sand that cascaded down towards the city. But that was not what caused me, Donnel, Lucina, and Severa to look back in terror.

Six red glows appeared in the mountain furthest to the south of us. They blinked once, then stayed alight. More sand cascaded down from the mighty slopes, unveiling cliffs made of glossy black and purple rocks.

No…, not rocks, scales; feathery scales that were as big as any building in this world, or even in my old home. A serpentine head snaked its way out from the first two mountains, shattering the mounds of sand burying it as it's horned maw rose higher into the sky. Great, black, feathery wings spread out from the mountains, obliterating the sand covering them. A mighty black tail erupted from the last group of mountains, smacking against the earth and causing another great shudder beneath my feet.

"Naga save us…" Donnel breathed.

My entire body shook as I stared up, looking higher and higher at the gargantuan form of Grima, the Fell Dragon.

The monster raised it's enormous head high, it's six eyes glowering down at us with malice. It's colossal jaws opened, unveiling row after row of jagged teeth that looked like small, sharp mountains. From its gaping jaws came an earth-shattering roar that popped both of my eardrums.

I collapsed to the ground, a severe sensation of vertigo claiming me as the earth rolled once more. Morgan rolled off of my back as I lay flat on my stomach, unable to move. I turned my head towards Lucina and Severa, and I could see Lucina's mouth moving. I could see Severa's slack-jawed look as she stared up at the terrible form of Grima. But I couldn't hear anything, save for the sharp, incessant ringing in both of my ears. I felt something hot and sticky dripping from my ears, but I was too stunned to understand what it was.

Grima's jaws opened again, and I felt the earth shake. Another roar, one I could not hear. I buried my face into the ground once more, squeezing my eyes shut and covering my head with my hands, begging for this all to go away. Begging for me to wake up from this nightmare. I'd take waking up anywhere other than here. In a hospital bed back home, on the road in front of a stopped bus, back in Ylisstol with the other Shepherds looking over me, just get me out of here!

A rough, calloused hand smacked my back, gripped me by my jerkin, and flipped me over. Donnel looked down at me. His mouth moved, but I still heard nothing. He must've noticed, because he snarled, grabbed me by my collar, and yanked me to my feet. With one powerful shove, he urged me forward, into the street that served as our only route of escape. As I got up, Donnel shouldered Morgan, despite the arrow protruding from his side.

I didn't think anymore. I just ran. As fast as my legs could carry me, I sprinted through the meandering streets of Doluna, trailing after both Lucina and Severa. More Risen attempted to cut us off, only for Lucina and Severa to make quick work of the simple grunts sent to slow us down.

We neared another town square. On the other end of the square stood the city walls, with a whole section broken away, opening the city up to the sand dunes surrounding it.

As we entered the square, an enormous talon slashed into the earth in front of the wall, kicking up a wave of sand and blocking our path. We skidded to a halt, and I felt hot breath, like a wave of heat from an enormous oven, pouring down from above.

I looked up, and I screamed, though I couldn't hear it.

Grima towered right over us, his six eyes narrowed as he watched us scramble along the ground like a bunch of helpless ants. My legs turned to jelly beneath me, and I fell back onto my behind, staring up as his jaws opened.

This was it. The end. I could see it coming from above now. A great ball of purple light formed within Grima's mouth, rumbling up from his chest like an oncoming torrent from flames from an actual fire-breathing dragon.

For some reason, I couldn't look away. I sat petrified, staring up at the end. Waiting for it to come crashing down and consume me in a torrent of dark fire.

A streak of white light shot across the black sky, smacking against Grima's head like a titanic punch. Grima's head jerked to the side, causing his attack to fire away from us and off into the distance instead. The earth shuddered when it impacted, but I didn't register it. I simply stared up, dumbfounded. Who could have possibly stopped-

_Tiki!_

Another streak of white fire slammed into Grima, knocking him off balance. Following it was a small, green and white dragon that zipped across the black sky and head-butted one of Grima's eyes. The Fell Dragon bellowed out an enraged roar, it's claw blocking our path tearing out of the ground to swipe at Tiki's draconic form.

I stared, dumbstruck, as Tiki weaved beneath Grima's talon, buzzing around the Fell Dragon like a small hummingbird attacking a mighty eagle. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Tiki zipped around the Fell Dragon, ducking, soaring, and weaving through his furious swipes while peppering his mammoth body with quick blasts of powerful dragon fire. Fountains of inky blood erupted from where Tiki's most potent blasts hit Grima's body. Hope filled me. There was a chance, thanks to Tiki. We were going to make it!

A hand smacking me hard on the cheek snapped me out of my stupor. Severa did not even bother saying anything to me, probably because she knew I couldn't hear her. Hell, she probably couldn't hear anything either. I could see small streams of blood coming from her ears as well.

The smack across the face got me moving again. I scrambled to my feet, and raced after her and the others. All of us clambered over the shattered remains of Doluna's walls and into the loose sand of the great dunes beyond the city. Arrows whistled past us as we ran away, but none of us turned back. We couldn't fight anymore, not with the Fell Dragon himself on the battlefield.

The earth shook again as we scaled the sand dune that concealed Harold and the cart. Sand shifted beneath my feet, nearly causing me to tumble back down the dune towards the Risen giving chase. Severa twirled around, snagged me by my left hand, and jerked me back upright.

When I reached the crest of the dune, I spotted the cart, and I raced ahead of the others towards it. Harold stamped a hoof as we approached, the loyal, yet terrified, horse practically telling me to hurry up.

I clambered up into the driver's seat, taking the reins into my hands. The cart jostled behind me as the others jumped inside, with Severa bursting through the canvas flaps behind me in order to take a seat beside me.

She nodded her head, and I snapped the reins. Harold bucked, dug his hooves into the loose sand, then broke into a full, out of control gallop. I grit my teeth and pulled on the reins, urging him to turn towards the east, which he thankfully did.

As he turned, I caught a glimpse of the duel between two beings of enormous power. Grima and Tiki were locked into a desperate battle, from which Tiki seemed unable to break free. She continued to zip around Grima's form, raking his scales with her divine fire. Occasionally, she landed on him, tearing into his flesh with her fangs and claws. But every time she tried to get away, one of Grima's talons or wings would block her path.

My breath caught in my throat. Grima was boxing her in. He wanted her to keep fighting. He wanted her to be here all along.

_Please, Tiki, get away. Please-_

Tiki spun beneath one of Grima's wings, and I saw his serpentine head whip down. His jaws were open, and they slammed shut with an enormous crack. His teeth clipped one of Tiki's wings as she twirled out of the way at the last second. Tiki's graceful twirl transformed into an out of control spin. She managed to correct her course with one weak flap of her wings. A lump formed in my throat as I watched Tiki race around Grima, attempting to escape by getting behind him.

Only for his tail to whip into her. Tiki flew through the dark sky like a ball being hit off of a baseball bat. A great plume of sand erupted from a nearby dune as she plowed into it.

Grima's eyes turned to us, and the knot in my throat tightened.

I snapped the reins, trying with all my might to get Harold to gallop faster through the sand. The cart jostled and shook behind me more, and I thought I could hear, faintly, stuff being tossed out the back.

I glanced back towards Grima as I turned the cart in the direction of Ylisse. A great purple ball of fire sat in his open maw, aimed right at our little cart. My grip on the reins tightened, and I snapped them again, calling out for Harold to run faster. The horse seemingly got the message as he galloped faster than any horse I had ever seen.

But it was no use. The earth shook, and a great beam of magic rocketed towards us. The light from it resembled the sun at noon, blinding me as I looked directly back into it.

A green form shot in front of the blast, and the lump in my throat plummeted as I watched Tiki's injured form get between us and the blast. An enormous bam erupted through the air, the shockwaves of which nearly caused the cart to flip over. Sand rippled around us in small waves, making me bounce in my seat. Something wet hit my right ear, a tingling sensation filled it, and suddenly sound filtered in once more.

"Sam!" Severa bellowed into my ear, as she held an empty vulnerary vial, "What just happen-"

A green and white dragon soared over our head, thin streams of smoke trailing after her as she flew limply through the air. Tiki landed a few dunes ahead of us. Thick clouds of sand erupted from where her body hit the earth.

A triumphant roar reverberated over the land from behind us. My heart hammered in my chest. I glanced back, expecting to see Grima charging another attack in order to finish us off. Instead, Grima soared high into the sky, then flew north, towards Regna Ferox. Ignoring us, as if we were nothing to him but ants that he mercifully spared.

Still, I did not let Harold slow down. Not only did I want to get as far away from Doluna as quickly as possible, but I knew we needed to reach Tiki, fast. My heart continued to hammer in my chest, but instead of fear, I felt dread. I saw what happened to Tiki. I saw her take Grima's devastating attack for us.

And I made a promise, one I prayed I had not failed to keep.

_Please be alive, Tiki._

* * *

It did not take us long to find Tiki. All we had to do was follow the smoke, the trench dug into the sea of sand before us, and the thin trails of blood from where her draconic body skidded through the earth. Part of me expected to see Tiki still in her green and white dragon body. Perhaps that was the more optimistic side of me. If she was still in that powerful form, it meant that she still had the energy to maintain it despite taking a powerful blast from Grima. But when we saw her human form, curled up on blood-soaked sand, any hope I had of her being remotely okay died.

I gently tugged on the reins, making Harold slow to a stop next to Tiki. Severa had already jumped from the cart by the time my feet hit the sand. She rushed towards Tiki, sliding down next to her and quickly pulling the cork from a vulnerary she took with her from the cart.

"Sam, see if there's a healing staff in the cart or something." Severa said, her voice shockingly muted as she propped Tiki's head upright so she could get the vulnerary down her throat.

I froze as I looked down at Tiki. To say she looked bad would've been one of the gravest understatements I could make. Her red tunic and pink cape had been torn to shreds. Large swatches of blackened skin covered her chest, stomach, and sides. What skin wasn't burnt to a crisp had been gashed by either the blast, or by her collision and subsequent slide through the sand dunes. A thin stream of blood trickled from her pale lips as Severa forced the blue vulnerary down her throat.

"D-Does anyone know how to-"

"I don't know!" Severa yelled, tears bubbling in her eyes. She popped the cork to a second vulnerary and dumped the entirety of its contents onto Tiki's wounds, "But-but someone has to try!"

"Move!"

Lucina shoved her way past me, a staff already in hand. The green gemstone atop the staff glowed as Lucina skidded to a stop beside Severa. She held the staff out over Tiki's body, allowing green magical energy to slowly shine down upon Tiki's broken form. The glow remained steady for a few moments, then began to flicker as Lucina grit her teeth in frustration.

"I should've paid more attention to my aunt's lessons." She hissed, "Sam, Sev, get her in the cart. She's alive, but we need to make all haste to Ylisstol."

Severa and I nodded. I gently grabbed Tiki by her legs, and Severa hooked her arms. We rushed her over to the cart, where Donnel was waiting to haul her inside. His face paled upon seeing her, and I could see his mouth moving as several inaudible curses flowed from his lips.

As Donnel laid Tiki down on her bedroll in the cart, one of the Manakete's green eyes cracked open. I could see some confusion in her eyes, followed by a brief spat of panic, before her eye flicked towards me, Donnel, Severa, and Lucina. Relief flooded over her bloodied features, followed by a small smile. Her eye closed, and she fell unconscious once again.

"Lucina hop in here and help me keep an eye on her." Donnel ordered, wincing as the arrow wound he received pained him, "Sam, Severa get us moving."

I nodded, let my gaze linger on Tiki for a moment, then tore my eyes away as a lump lodged itself in my throat. Quickly, I marched to the driver's side of the cart, hopped up in my seat, with Severa jumping into the seat next to me, grabbed the reins, and snapped them. Harold snorted, seemingly understanding the urgency of the situation, and raced into full gallop.

My eyes squinted as sand kicked up from Harold's rapid hoofbeats. Normally I would complain about the sand blasting into my face, but my thoughts lay elsewhere, away from my own discomforts.

Guilt weighed heavily on my shoulders, with worry sitting on my chest, making it hard to breathe. The lump in my throat refused to go down. Instead, it sat like a stone in my windpipe. My hands trembled as the reins sat loose in my grip.

We managed to successfully infiltrate Doluna. Somehow, we snatched Sable right from Grima's grasp. Then, thanks to the tremendous sacrifice of two of our comrades, we escaped Grima's wrath. And yet, I felt like this entire mission was a failure.

No, it could not be a failure, not yet! We had Sable, and Tiki still lived. The two objectives of my mission, one given to me by the Exalt, the other a personal request from Anna, were accomplished.

Still, a sinking feeling entered my gut, and I struggled to catch my breath. Behind me, in the cart, I heard Donnel and Lucina frantically working on Tiki's wounds. I could hear gauze tearing as they wrapped her wounds, followed by the sound of more corks popping free from vulnerary vials. I swallowed hard, hoping to force the lump in my throat down, but it only grew bigger.

_She's going to live. _A shuddering breath left my lips, _Anna, she's going to live._

* * *

How many days and nights passed during our mad dash away from Plegia? If I was asked that question, I wouldn't be able to give an answer. The only evidence of time passing was the slightly lighter shade of gray over our heads signaling daytime, followed by the deep shadows of night. The only evidence of our progress fleeing the enemy's homeland showed itself when the land turned into scraggly savanna, then to the dry mountains lining the border between Plegia and Ylisse, before finally changing into the dead plains that were once the Ylissean countryside.

I barely made note of any of this, mostly because I felt beyond exhausted. Sleep eluded me throughout our journey, since we only stopped for brief one or two hour rests so Harold could recuperate enough to continue the journey home. He no longer raced at full gallop home, but the loyal steed did his best to speed us home.

Still, I was unsure of how many days passed. My head hung heavy from my shoulders. My vision was blurry as I watched the rolling fields of gray, dead grass pass by us. Severa sat beside me, only a bit more awake than I was. Her red eyes stayed alert, but I noticed her yawn, and her head nod often.

We rode like that for several more hours… I think? At some point, Donnel poked his head out from the cart, his face pale, sweat beading on his brow as he fought off a harsh fever. His one hand tapped my shoulder.

"A day out now." He muttered, voice hoarse, "Let Harold rest a bit, then we'll make our final push home."

I nodded, pulling on the reins and making Harold come to a stop

"A fire?" I asked.

Donnel gave me a weary look, "Unless you have the energy?"

I shook my heavy head.

"Thought not." Donnel sighed, "I'll help ya with the camp stuff and-"

"And you will get out and rest." Severa cut in, her voice far quieter than normal, "The rest of us will set camp up."

Donnel glared over at Severa, before sighing again, his breath leaving his lungs in a shaky rasp. With a nod, he moved to leave the cart, along with Lucina, and a completely silent Morgan. As the kids set up our meager campsite, I moved from my seat, hopping down onto the dead earth. My boots crunched atop the gray field with heavy footfalls as I trudged towards the back of the cart.

As I got to the back, I heard a faint rasp directed at me.

"Samwise…"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. In an instant, all my weariness left me. My head snapped to the cart, eyes landing on Tiki as she lay still on her back, her eyes cracked open a sliver. Just enough for her to be able to see me, and enough for me to tell she was looking at me.

I wasn't sure if she was addressing me out of delirium, or if she was trying to tell me something. So I remained where I stood, unsure of what to do. It wasn't until she rasped my name again, her voice a quiet whisper in the cold air, that I finally moved into the cart towards her side.

My gaze roved over Tiki once more, as it always did when I checked on her. Donnel, Lucina, and (when she awoke from her magical exhaustion) Morgan, regularly changed her bandages, applied more vulneraries, and did their best with what little healing magic skills they had to ease her pain. Despite their attentiveness, Tiki's fresh bandages were already bloodstained. Whatever wounds Grima dealt her refused to close. It was a testament to her strength and willpower that Tiki even held on this long, let alone managed to wake up and speak.

"How-" Her throat bobbed as her eyes cracked open a little more, "Water… please."

My eyes snapped around the cart. I saw one of the kid's water skins nearby and snatched it. Gently, I placed the spout to Tiki's cracked lips. A few drops ran over her lips, before she gasped and subtly nodded her head, telling me to stop. Once more, her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard.

"I…" She exhaled, "Overheard Morgan… one left."

I furrowed my brow, "One left? One left of what?"

"Vul-" Tiki's breath rattled from her body.

Panic shot through me, "You need a vulnerary?" I turned to look over at Morgan, who was helping a very weak Donnel set up his bedroll. On her belt rested a pouch with a lone vulnerary vial sticking out from it, "I'll grab it and-"

Tiki's hand snapped out, gripping my arm and preventing me from leaving her side. Now her emerald eyes were wide, and she glared at me. I froze, and that seemed to appease her because she let her hand fall back down to her side.

I looked at her, puzzled, "You don't need it or-"

Tiki shook her head, "Save it." Her voice sounded far fainter now, "Someone else will need it."

Even more confusion filled me. Up until this point, Tiki did not hesitate to accept the vulneraries given to her by the others. Why would she refuse now?

Her face drained of color, and so did mine.

"T-Tiki, you can't-"

A small, serene smile crossed her lips, "Samwise… I-" She swallowed hard again, a faint mist forming in her eyes, "Thank you."

"Thank me? No, no, don't thank me. Not until I get you home."

Her smile remained, even as more color drained from her features. A faint whisper, barely audible to my ears, came from her lips. I leaned towards her, straining to hear Tiki's voice.

"You… will…"

A soft breath left her lips, like a faint breeze slipping by, barely noticeable. I waited with bated breath for her to speak more, staring into her misty eyes.

No more words came, and her eyes looked at me, vacant.

"T-Tiki?"

My hand trembled towards her neck, shaking fingers searching for a pulse. When I felt nothing, I frantically grabbed her limp arm, pressing my fingers hard against her wrist.

_It has to be there! She can't… she can't!_

At that moment, I realized just how cold her skin was to the touch. It felt like my hands were clutching a chunk of ice. A pit formed in my stomach as the terrible reality slammed into me. My throat constricted. My breaths left my lungs in gasps of disbelief. I sank back from Tiki, slumping against a crate behind me.

"Samwise," I heard Severa, but didn't bother to look at her as she approached the cart, "You gonna come help or not?"

I slowly turned my head, and I watched all of the color drain from Severa's face as she saw my helpless expression.

"I-" I gulped, trying to swallow the knot in my throat, only for it to grow tighter, "Tiki- she's-"

Severa surged into the cart. From that moment on, it all became a blur. I heard Severa scream for Morgan and Lucina, but I couldn't make out the words she said. Every noise sounded muffled, every movement around me blurry, even as Morgan and Lucina pushed me to the side. I could see a faint green glow over Tiki's body, but it looked far more muted than before. It only lasted a couple of seconds anyways before Morgan's entire body sagged.

Severa was yelling something at her. Lucina's head was bowed, shoulders shuddering, and I found myself tearing my eyes from them as I left the cart. My boots crunched against the grass as I absently walked around back to my seat. I climbed up into the driver's seat, and sat there, silent and still, my gaze focused on the west. To where Ylisstol lay, only a day away.

A lone tear bubbled in my left eye. I didn't bother to wipe it away as it rolled down my cheek, then dripped down to the wood bench I sat on. The knot in my throat tightened, and I bowed my head, letting it fall into my hands. Another tear dripped from my left eye, then my right. My hands gripped clumps of my hair, and I grit my teeth.

_No crying… _I sniffled, _No... no crying..._

The tears fell, and my shoulders shook.

_I'm sorry, Anna._

**And chapter! Whew... that was a chapter. A very fun one to write, but one that is also one of my darker chapters (I think?). I've actually become a bit leery of writing character deaths recently (ironic given the setting of this story), but that is due to mistakes I've made in previous stories. Mistakes that I have learned valuable lessons from and hopefully I applied them well here. Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!**

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**Also, check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ Podcast! Myself, Narwahl Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts, and we talk about writing, writing advice, fanfiction stuff, and occasionally we tangent into nonsense XD. You can find it on Spotify, and on Soundcloud. The links are also on our Discord Server, and the code for that is a paragraph above! Hope to see you all there!**


	31. Interlude II: The Day that Never Comes

Rigged from the Start

Interlude II

The Day That Never Comes

**Morgan**

The days had grown darker. Such a phenomenon had become commonplace since Grima's shadow had stretched out over the world, consuming the warmth, the light, and the good that once flourished over the land. But even with Grima's shadow consuming the blue skies we all once knew, Ylisstol still stood. Ylisstol still had a sunrise, a sunset, blue skies, and warm days.

As our cart made the final approach to the Exalted City, rumbling along the cobblestone that led up to the white gates, I noticed something that made the terrible feeling in my heart worse. The twilight sky lacked the faint stars I was used to seeing. Instead, inky black clouds shrouded the white city, casting dense shadows all around.

When we entered the city, my concern grew. The people within Ylisstol looked… different. It's hard for me to explain. They appeared weary but more than anything else; afraid. The usual hustle and bustle that often accompanied evenings in Ylisstol, thanks to the many inns and taverns within the expansive markets beyond the main gate, sounded muted. Even the lamps lining the city streets seemed dimmer than before. It was as if the entire city could feel the intense, dark presence Grima cast over the world growing in strength.

The dark shroud cast over the city did little to help my mood. Melancholy already sat heavily within my heart after the events of the mission. While we may have successfully grabbed Sable, it came at a heavy price. One I was still coming to terms with.

Both Lon'qu and Tiki were dead, and I could not get the images of them dying out of my mind. The brutality of both deaths made me shiver where I sat in the cart, and I instinctively reached for my spellbook hidden within my coat. Instead of my fingers running along the soft, leather spine of my book, they brushed over the glossy, almost glass-like surface of Sable. A quiet sigh left my lips, and I let my hand fall back into my lap as my head bowed.

Their deaths were payment for our success. But did it have to be that way? What could have been done differently? Was there a strategy I could have implemented? An escape plan I could've formulated? One that did not involve fighting through a swarm of Risen, or Lon'qu fending off one of the few Deadlords we had ever encountered. These questions plagued my thoughts every waking moment during our journey home and continued to sit within my mind as we made our way through the markets and up towards the Exalt's Palace.

A heavy breath left my lips, and I flicked my eyes to the bedroll that covered Tiki's cold body. It was the only thing we had to cover her with, and we couldn't bury her out in the cold wasteland. Ylisstol became her home when all other homes burned to Grima's fire, and it was right to bring her back.

However, I dreaded this. I dreaded seeing the looks of despair and sorrow that were sure to appear on the faces of the Shepherds once we passed through the palace gate and stopped in the courtyard. A knot twisted in my gut, and I did my best to hide the sadness I felt. Everyone else in the cart was in the throes of grief. Severa grieved in her usual way, by being overly cross, and sensitive to everything. It made her impossible to interact with, so everyone gave her some space. Lucina did her best to hide her own sorrow, but she wasn't very good at it. I often heard her quietly crying in the night. Mourning both her Uncle Lon'qu and Lady Tiki. Sir Donnel grieved in a silent way, but he also didn't eat most days. That might have also been due to the sickness he developed from a mild infection in the arrow wound he received, but that will be remedied quickly by Brady, Lady Maribelle, and Exalt Lissa.

The only person who appeared to hide their grief the best was, surprisingly enough, Samwise. I had not seen a single tear shed from his eyes, nor a moment of sorrow flash over his face. Despite his more timid demeanor that I had grown familiar with, at this moment, he looked like a soldier. Stone-faced in the face of great tragedy. An effective facade of strength.

But that's all it was, a facade. Much like my own.

I drew in a quiet breath through my nose, readying myself for the shock that I knew would come from the others waiting to greet us. Once again, I reached into my coat, my fingers brushing along Sable's glossy exterior.

Such a strange artifact. A gemstone made by Naga herself, and yet, it felt strangely benign. I recalled handling one of the other gemstones once before. Tiki let me see Azure once when I was younger. I could still feel the enormous tingle of overwhelming magic coursing through my fingers from when I grasped that relic. A faint buzz that made my hair stand on end. Sable lacked that same magical aura.

Oh well. In the end, it is not my place to wonder about the intricacies of the Emblem Gemstones. That job belongs to the Exalt's family, as well as Miriel and Henry. My job is to come up with strategies for our meager war effort. Strategies that would see us lose the least amount of lives possible.

I looked at Tiki's body again, and my heart sank. Did I really come up with the best strategy to obtain Sable? Was there another angle I could have taken so that these terrible deaths could have been avoided?

Perhaps there was, but I could not let the others see my self-doubt. In the end, we were successful. And in the future, I knew I would have to do better.

The cart slowed to a crawl, then came to a stop within the Palace courtyard. I glanced around at the others in the cart, watching as Severa helped Donnel out, while Lucina picked up Tiki's body. I remained where I sat as they shambled out, a bit afraid of what I would find beyond the canvas walls. When Lucina hopped out of the cart was when I decided to move as well.

I hopped out of the cart and moved towards the front, feeling like my feet were floating along the ground. Dread filled me further as I caught a glimpse of the friendly faces waiting for us, their smiles disintegrating as we approached. My gaze settled on Exalt Lissa, and the look of complete disbelief on her face as she stared at Lucina approaching her with Tiki's body.

The first tears bubbled in Exalt Lissa's eyes. Her chin quivered as Lucina set Tiki's body down on the ground before the Exalt, Lady Maribelle, Sir Frederick, Anna, and the other adult Shepherds. I quickly moved to Lucina's side, vaguely noticing both Sam and Severa step up behind Donnel, unable to meet the Exalt's gaze.

Lissa's throat bobbed, "Did…" She swallowed hard, tucking her chin as her voice trembled, "F-Frederick, you- um… take care of things here."

My eyes closed and I cursed myself mentally as Exalt Lissa retreated up the Palace steps and into her family's home. When my eyes opened again, I saw the soberest expression I had ever seen on the Knight-Commander's face. He stepped forward, obscuring my view of a dumbstruck Anna, who's red eyes were glued to Tiki's body.

"Were you-" Frederick's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, "Did you succeed?"

Lucina, Donnel, and Severa's eyes turned to me. Sam's gaze remained at his feet.

I drew in a deep, calming breath, "Yes."

Frederick gave me a stiff nod, "Donnel, you and Morgan will come with me for debriefing. Miriel, Henry, you may come along and assist. Lady Maribelle, I trust you and the other clerics to tend to Lady Tiki's body." His eyes turned to Samwise, Lucina, and Severa. There was a softness in his gaze that I had never seen before, "The rest of you, go rest. You look like you need it."

Lucina uttered a shuddering breath. She nodded to Sir Frederick, placed a hand on Severa's shoulder, and nodded for my sister to follow her to the barracks. Sam remained rooted where he stood a moment, and Anna stood in front of him. Neither of them looked at each other. Instead, Anna knelt down to Tiki's body, one shaking hand pulling back the bedroll from her ashen face. I heard a sharp intake of breath come from Anna, which finally caused Sam to look up.

No words were exchanged. Anna left, and Sam's head bowed again, only this time his eyes were glued to Tiki. Part of me wanted to go over and comfort him somehow. Maybe a hand on the shoulder would help? A few reassuring words, perhaps?

"Morgan," Frederick called from the top of the palace steps.

Consoling Sam will have to wait. Duty came first, as always. I strode up the steps and followed Frederick, Miriel, and Henry into the Palace.

It did not take long for us to reach the war-council chambers hidden deep within the palace. It was a drab, windowless room, with one way in and out. Two guards always flanked the lone door. Within the room was a long table with several chairs scattered around it. Maps always littered the table. Maps stained with ink from my handwriting and planning. I'd have to go through them at some point. Most of them were irrelevant anymore anyways.

The door shut behind me, and I was left alone with Frederick, Miriel, and Henry. Frederick moved to his usual spot beside the table but did not take a seat. He leaned up against the chair he usually sat in, chin tucked as he drew in a deep breath. One of his armored hands reached up and wiped at his eyes.

"Tomorrow will be a hard day," The Knight Commander muttered, earning somber nods from Miriel, and Henry surprisingly enough. It seems Tiki's death left the death-obsessed dark mage stunned as well, "We'll have to speak with the children about all this."

Amazing how I wasn't considered part of that group anymore. Or maybe I was, and Frederick simply exercised some tact with me present? Doesn't matter. What mattered more than anything else was how we needed to proceed. I reached into my coat and withdrew the object of our mission. As soon as the glossy, onyx gem touched the wood table, Miriel and Henry's eyes widened.

"So we were right," Miriel breathed, sweeping around the table towards the gemstone. In a flash, her notebook was out, and she snatched a quill from one of the many inkwells that littered the table. "Fascinating. It appears to be more glass-like than the historical accounts say." Her studious gaze turned to me, "Tell me, what did you feel upon holding such a powerful artifact?"

"What did I feel?" I replied, swallowing down the strong emotions of recent events in order to keep my voice neutral, "Nothing honestly."

Miriel quirked an eyebrow as Henry moved around the table, his black robes gliding along the tile floor.

"Curious." Miriel muttered, "I recall studying an ancient account from the ruler of a lost city-"

"Ah, the Account on the Darksphere by the Pontifex of Khadein." Henry nodded, his eyes roving over Sable's glossy surface, "A shame it is only scraps of information. An even greater shame that we cannot find Khadein in order to find further accounts of such things."

"I concur, Henry." Miriel nodded, "But as I was saying, the account stated that the Darksphere, or Sable as we know it, has a most peculiar effect upon those of a magical inclination. To hear that you felt nothing, Morgan, causes me mild confusion."

"Was there a description of the Darksphere in the Pontifex's account?" Henry asked, stooping down until he was eye level with the gem. Frederick sat down in his seat, remaining quiet and choosing to let me and the other mages discuss the topic.

Miriel pursed her lips, "I do not recall."

Henry shrugged, "Only one way for us to find out then."

My eyes went wide as Henry snatched Sable from the table, hoisted it over his head with both hands, then slammed it down to the tile floor. With a catastrophic bam, Sable shattered into innumerable glass shards.

"Henry!" Frederick bellowed, surging from his seat, one hand resting on his still sheathed sword.

Miriel appeared to be on the urge of fainting. Me, well… I stared down at the black shards at my feet. My hands shook at my side, and the knot in my gut tightened to an unbearable amount of tension.

I could hear Frederick shouting at Henry in the background, along with Henry's insane cackles as he babbled something about it being fake. But… no, no! It could not be fake. This had to be Sable. Samwise snatched it from the palace himself.

I dropped to my knees, one trembling hand reaching for a black shard. I picked it up, and as I lifted it towards the torchlight, I saw the inky darkness within the shard dissipate. My eyes widened as I detected residual magic fading from the shards. All of it, an illusion. Nothing but false hope. We never had Sable. We managed to steal a useless ball of glass.

* * *

**Severa**

Fuck it. Fuck this. Fuck that. Fuck the world, fuck Doluna, and fuck that damned death lizard that took two more Shepherds from us.

Gawds, why? Why, why, why!? That's all that ran through my mind as I shoved the door to the Shepherd's barracks open, expecting to see my friends waiting for me, Lucina, and Samwise. When I saw that the common room was empty, a part of me felt some relief. At least I would have time before the terrible news was broken to the others.

_Lon'qu… _My fury faded, replaced by sadness and anxiety. I shook my head, _Oh Naga, Owain!_

My anger disappeared, replaced by dread. Owain has been one of the only members of our band of Shepherds to avoid the absolute, gut-wrenching trauma that came from losing a parent. Everyone else has felt the sharp pain of that loss during this war, some worse than others. Now, someone was going to have to tell him that his father was dead. And there isn't even a body to bury, or to grieve over. No final heroic words for him to say. Not even his father's sword to give to Owain. Nothing except condolences and memories.

I grit my teeth, feeling some tears burn in my eyes. With a harsh sniffle, I fought them back. Quietly, I moved towards the barrack's bar, where I saw several bottles of firewine, and Samwise. To my surprise, he already had one bottle popped open. An empty glass sat in front of him as his eyes stared blankly at the full bottle.

Gawds, he confuses the hell out of me. One moment he's as timid and nervous as Yarne is, and the next he's as stoic as a brick wall. You'd think losing two Shepherds the way we did, and barely escaping with our lives, would elicit some sort of emotional reaction out of him. But even when Tiki died, he was stunned for a moment, then he retreated to his spot driving the cart. Didn't say a single word to anyone the rest of the ride home. Didn't cry, didn't so much as a sniffle. He kept his eyes forward.

Some of the Shepherds would say that is admirable. I know Frederick and Sully would be among those who called Samwise strong for such a thing. But to me, there's something wrong with not crying for those we've lost. And while I never wanted anyone to see me cry, I still did. I wept for Gaius when we lost him, and Samwise hardly shed a tear. I cried for Libra and Khan Flavia during the night when no one could hear me or see the tears. I sobbed during our lone night in the wild after Tiki's death, wondering what could have been done to save her and Lon'qu.

But Samwise, the "adult" besides Donnel, nothing. Even Donnel mourned in his own way, and he was too ill from that arrow wound to focus on his sadness while we raced home.

Gawds dammit, Samwise reminded me of Morgan now. Cold, distant, and unwilling to even confront the reality that two of our strongest warriors were dead. Our lone deterrent against a direct invasion from Grima was being prepped for burial at this very moment. Yet, here he is, not even drinking the pain away.

He didn't even notice me sitting down next to him after I snatched a glass for myself from behind the bar. Without asking, I plucked the bottle of firewine, and poured till my glass was full. Once I set the bottle back down, I placed my glass to my lips and down it in one long gulp.

_Too much!_

My eyes widened as the alcohol burned down my throat and into my stomach, churning through my empty bowels and leaving me feeling a touch nauseous. I winced and let out a ragged gasp. Samwise's eyes flicked in my direction, the only indication he has given me that he knows I'm even next to him.

A disgusted snarl crossed my lips. I plucked the bottle again, poured more, and this time only gulped down half of my glass, before setting the rest down.

Still nothing. Gawds, he's just so- so-

"What gives?" I growled, having enough of sitting in silence.

Samwise's hands remained in his lap as he looked blankly at the bottle of firewine. His jaw moved back and forth, gaze lifeless, before he finally reached out and poured a small shot of Firewine into his glass. He drew in a deep breath, raised the glass, and tipped it back.

I arched an eyebrow, "The hell was-" I saw that same blank expression on his face, and decided to forgo any questions, "Never mind."

_Where's Lucina right now? I need some company. Someone to distract me from this bullshit. Someone to be next to me when… when we have to tell Owain what happened._

Where exactly was everyone else right now anyway? I thought for a moment as I took another sip of firewine, then nodded as I recalled Frederick's evening patrols from before we all left for Arena Ferox. Our forces must be spread very thin if all the Shepherds were out on patrol right now.

_That, or Grima killed that many at the Arena. _A scowl formed on my lips, and I finished off my second glass.

Right as I finished, the door burst open.

"The grand heroes have returned!" A cheery voice bellowed, making my stomach drop like a stone in water.

"The Justice Cabal's mission has been completed with resounding success," Cynthia answered Owain as she bounced into the room, a fresh sheen of sweat on her face from the long patrol.

Brady and Kjelle marched in next.

"Aw hell, already guys?" Brady drawled, noticing the opened bottle in front of me and Samwise, "Ya know, we were saving that for tonight's celebration."

"Guess they started early eh?" Kjelle chuckled, smacking Samwise hard on his back. When that barely elicited a reaction, Kjelle arched an eyebrow, "Huh, must've already had his fill, right Sev?"

"Kjelle just-" I grit my teeth, holding back any scathing words. How could they all be so cheerful right now? Couldn't they see how bad things have gone? I uttered a heavy sigh, "Where're the others?"

"Others are on their way," Kjelle replied with a shrug. As she spoke, the door opened again, and Noire shuffled in, clinging to the shadows until Kjelle rolled her eyes and motioned for her to come over, "Help me out of this shit."

"O-okay," Noire muttered as Kjelle fumbled with the buckles of her heavy armor.

Kjelle's armor clanked to the floor as Noire fumbled pieces of it. I didn't bother to turn around and look at anyone, mostly because for some reason I could not face Owain. I could not be the one to tell him. My hand tightened around my empty glass as the pit of dread in my gut grew into a chasm.

"Ya two alright?" Brady asked, sliding into a seat beside Samwise, "C'mon, ya'll came back alive and all. That's cause for celebration alone."

"Brady…" I growled, my voice low with warning.

He furrowed his brow at me, "The hell did I say wrong this time, Sev?" He glared at me a moment, and for the first time in a long time, I did not have the energy to meet his combative stare, "Shit, someone's pissed you off, haven't they? Haven't seen ya this outta sorts since Gaius passed."

I sucked in a breath, and I saw Samwise's hands clench into tight balls in his lap. Our silence must've sent a signal to Brady, because his good-natured, teasing tone died within seconds.

"Oh fuck," He gulped, "Sev, what-"

The door to one of the bunkrooms opened, then shut with a soft click. I glanced over, and paled when I saw Lucina marching down the hall. She had her head held up high, but I could see it was a false strength. There were obvious tear stains beneath her eyes and on her cheeks. Everyone else noticed the facade too. All the smiles surrounding us faded away, replaced by anxious looks directed at Lucina.

My mouth turned dry as Lucina walked up to Owain. She drew in a deep breath, and put a hand on Owain's shoulder. Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. Instead, I saw fresh tears come from her eyes.

"I-" Lucina swallowed hard, and the chasm in my gut grew, "Owain, I'm so sorry."

Owain appeared confused at first. Then the full weight of Lucina's words hit him, and all the color in his blissfully naive face faded away. I tore my eyes away before I could watch the tears fall from his face. My eyes squeezed shut, and I did my best to block out the mutters of denial, then the blubbers that rattled out of Owain. My jaw clenched tight as his blubbering turned into full-blown, agonized howls.

My stomach twisted, the chasm shrinking to an impossible pinpoint. A horrendous feeling that I've felt a few times before. Each time involved someone's death.

I heard Kjelle mutter to Brady that he should help Lucina, Cynthia, and Owain get somewhere private. Seems the entire royal family broke down. I knew that was coming, but that foreknowledge did little to ease the ache in my heart. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Brady lead all three towards one of the bunkrooms, where they could grieve in peace. He'd probably stick with all three too. He was an ordained priest of Naga after all. This kind of moment fell into his realm of expertise.

"Noire, go tell the others that there is no celebration tonight." Kjelle ordered.

"O-okay."

I heard Noire's soft footsteps fade away, followed by the gentle creak of the barracks door as it swung open, then clicked closed. Once it closed, I reached for the bottle, filled up a full glass, and decided to down it all in one go again.

The burning caught me off guard. I made the mistake of sucking in a sharp breath, which only made it worse. Harsh coughs wracked my lungs.

"F-Fuck!" I rasped between coughs.

"Language," Samwise mumbled.

My eyes widened. All of my sorrow, all of my rage, all of my disdain surged to the surface.

"Language?" I snarled, my voice still hoarse as a few straggling coughs slipped from my lips, "Language!?" His green eyes flicked to meet mine, "Is that what you're concerned about!?"

I heard Kjelle suck in a breath, "I'm gonna go wait outside."

"Go then!" I shouted back, before whipping my eyes back to Samwise, "What the fuck is your problem? Huh!?"

No answer, and my fury grew. I snarled, shoving myself away from the bar and storming to my feet.

"What, do you just not feel anything!?" I roared, hardly noticing that his back was turned to me, "Do you think you're being strong right now? Well, you're not! All you're doing is- is being a phenomenal asshole! I mean, do you not have any sympathy, empathy? Oh no wait, you're from another world. Oh-me-oh-my, so special! Just-" I glared at Samwise's back, for some reason seeing a black, purple, and gold coat instead of his black cloak, "For Naga's sake, turn the fuck around and say something!"

My legs felt weak, and I suddenly felt dizzy. I staggered back a step, then sank into a chair behind me. A ragged gasp left my lips, followed by fresh tears. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying my best to not let them fall.

It was no use. Sobs hit me, and I buried my face into my hands. My entire body shook as it all flashed through my mind again. Each and every death, from the first to the last seemed so vivid. Long-buried feelings I had regarding the deaths of my parents flooded my mind, making my cries grow more pained.

I must've cried for a few minutes, but who cares how long it was. The reply was still the same. Silence.

I raised my head, expecting Samwise to still be facing the bar. Instead, he was turned around in his seat. His jaw was tight, and I could see his throat moving up and down as he swallowed hard. A long breath exhaled from his lips, and his eyes closed.

"No crying in a soldier's house."

I sniffled, my bleary vision focusing on Samwise as I remained stone-faced. No… not stone-faced. His lower lip was trembling. My eyes widened a little as he reached up with his hand and swiped at his eyes.

"Nope…" He whispered, letting out another long exhale, "Um… I'm sorry, Sev. I really am."

Fuck, here comes the guilt now. I suppose, if I were to be honest, I wasn't angry with Samwise. No, I was angry at Grima. I was angry at the Risen that served as his mindless horde of soldiers, angry at the Deadlord that slew one of my mentors and left Owain fatherless, angry at Morgan for being so cold in the face of all this, and angry at the world for being this way.

"It's just-" I sniffled, wiping at my eyes again, to no avail, "It's not fair, Samwise. H-how can evil win like this? How can we keep losing and losing? And why did it have to happen to us?"

Once more, silence. Why do the adults always answer hard questions with silence? I thought I was supposed to be able to ask them anything, and while Sam may only be a few years older than the rest of us, I did expect some sort of answer.

He drew in a breath, "I don't know, Severa." He took a seat on the sofa beside me, hands folded in front of him, "If I had the answers for that, I wouldn't be dealing with those questions myself."

Stray tears dripped down my cheeks, which I quickly wiped away. His answer was not the one I was looking for, but at least he was honest, for a change. That's more than I could say for other people, namely the ice-cold human being I called my sister. At least Samwise knew when to admit he was at fault. At least he knew when to admit he didn't have the answers. I could at least respect that.

As we sat there, the door to the barracks opened.

_Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. _I thought as I watched Morgan shuffle into the barracks, eyes downcast, her pale face looking strangely somber.

Morgan must've heard me huff, because she froze where she stood, near the bar, and glanced over to us. That was when I felt a pit form in my gut. For the first time since this war began, I saw something I'd never seen before on Morgan's face.

I saw defeat. Complete, total defeat, mixed with an intense guilt that told me whatever mask she wore had been violently ripped away. A haunted look filled her eyes as she leaned back against the bar, lips pressed into a thin line.

"We've lost." She muttered.

Sam stiffened where he sat, and my gaze sharpened as I glared at Morgan.

"What do you mean we've lost?" I asked, "We've got Sable. We-"

Morgan shook her head, "All a lie." She croaked, "A-a damn illusion." The pit in my gut opened wide, threatening to swallow me whole, "Grima played us, again."

My mouth fell open, and no words came forth. What could I say? I could barely understand the implications of what Morgan told us. Was she saying that we failed? But how!? How was the Sable we snatched an illusion?

"So," Samwise's voice trembled as he spoke up. When I flicked my eyes back to him, I saw his face lacked all color, "All of that, for nothing?"

Morgan looked down at her feet, hiding her eyes behind her dark bangs. Her head nodded ever so slightly, and despair's jaws swallowed me whole.

"I-I need to tell Lucina." Morgan continued, drawing in a shaky breath as she tried to keep herself composed, "If you'll excuse me."

Like that, she marched down the hall. Just as she entered the hallway, I saw the guilt riddled expression on her face revert back to the cold, unfeeling mask she wore beforehand. Once again, Morgan decided to try and plow through it all. To act as if it meant nothing. And once again, she took no fault, and my blood boiled.

_She's supposed to be our tactician. She's supposed to know the things we need to know for the missions. _I grit my teeth, hands balling up into tight fists in my lap, _It was her strategy that lost us Arena Ferox. Her strategy that got Lon'qu and Tiki killed. Why can't she at least admit she's in over her head!?_

"God…" I heard Samwise breath, "I'm gonna have to tell her it was for nothing."

His words dragged me from my thoughts, and I gave him a puzzled look, "What?"

His throat bobbed, and I could see tremendous sadness, and anxiety in his gaze, "Anna," He continued, "I'm going to have to tell her that it was all for nothing. That Tiki's death was for nothing."

In an instant, my fury was gone. I had forgotten all about that. Anna and Tiki, at one time, before this damn war and before everything in my life had gone to absolute hell, were close. I was never sure how close. None of us really were sure. Those two tended to be very private about their personal lives, but it was safe to say they were more than mere friends long ago.

And now, Tiki was dead.

Samwise exhaled, "I-" He swallowed, "Not sure if I can do it now. I-" He wiped at his left eye, "I need sleep."

Without another word, he got up and left, heading to his bunk. I remained where I sat, stewing in my thoughts and sorrows. Even if I tried to get some rest, it would elude me. Once more, my gaze turned to the bottle of firewine.

_Nothing better to do._

* * *

**Tharja**

Hard to believe that, in all the ruin bestowed upon Arena Ferox by my Master and his mindless servants, I was still able to enjoy a lovely cup of hot tea. Thank Grima for it too. Even with his new dominion over this land, Regna Ferox remained unbearably cold. My frozen hands grasped the mug, and I hummed as the warmth from the tea spread through the porcelain and into my fingers.

As I was about to bring the teacup to my lips, the flap to my tent fluttered. A long breath exhaled through my nose, and I closed my eyes.

_Someone has enormous nerve to interrupt my me-time._

"Aw, you didn't bother to invite me?"

Aversa's snide voice slipped into my ears, grating against me more than any other annoyance known to man. I set my tea down, bracing myself for yet another unpleasant conversation with a woman that, despite our current working relationship, I loathed.

"I thought that once night fell, I wouldn't have to deal with you." I replied, not even bothering to turn around as Aversa sauntered into my tent.

Mad snickers floated into my ears, "Night is eternal now, Little Tharja."

I grit my teeth as that cursed nickname hung in the air. Aversa slithered from behind me over to the chair across the small, round table from me. She looked every bit the hideous crone that she loved to be. Her gray skin, with cracks running through it like eroded stone, always threatened to send shivers up my spine. How could one sink so deep into the shadows of black magic that they wound up looking less than human? Personally, as much as I loved learning about that school of magic and practicing it, I'd like to keep my looks.

"It may be eternal, but last I checked, schedules still exist."

"Mmm, and you were scheduled to meet with me earlier this evening." Aversa countered, as she folded one leg over the other, "Seems to me you do not care for my schedule, so why should I care for yours?"

I remained silent at that. Perhaps silence would chase the Witch away? With that in mind, I reached for my teacup once more, and brought it to my lips. It was a simple black tea, nothing fancy, but much more compatible for most potions I liked to whip up in order to fend off the cold. The boiling hot liquid hit my tongue, washed down my throat, and sank into my stomach, warming my muscles and bones.

"Cold?" Aversa asked, her long, black fingernails tapping atop my table.

My policy of the Silent Treatment remained. I blew a small breath over the tea, watching as the steam blew away from my mouth a moment, then I took another sip.

"If you would just give yourself fully to our Master, that weak body of yours would-"

"I refuse to look like… how did that fun little thief put it? A lump of coal?" I remarked, my lips twitching into an ever so slight smirk as I caught fury flashing through Aversa's burning eyes. A light snicker tittered from my lips, "Quite accurate, if I do say so myself."

"Your vanity will only fail to ingratiate you with our Lord." Aversa snarled, making my eyes light up.

"My vanity is why he likes to be with me more than you." I leaned back in my seat, "After all, who would want to spend time with a brown-noser such as yourself?"

That did the trick. In a flash, Aversa shot up in her seat, furious breaths heaving in and out of her lungs as she glared hatefully down at me. As for me, I brought my tea to my lips, and took an oh so satisfied sip.

My satisfaction faded when Aversa's fury ebbed away, replaced by a mad grin that caused caution to form in me. Low chuckles sputtered from her lips as she glared at me, the hate still evident in her eyes, but now mixed with plenty of amusement.

"Oh, Little Tharja, how little you know of Lord Grima." She sneered, "Eventually, you will be alone in your stance on the matter, then what?"

"Precious gems are only valuable when they are rare, I suppose?" I replied with a nonchalant shrug, "Learned that from an old friend of mine."

"Oh? So you still consider the merchant a friend?"

My eyes closed. I shouldn't have said that.

Aversa slipped around the table, immediately invading my personal space. Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper in my ear, causing my jaw to clench tight behind my lips.

"No wonder you weren't in a hurry to torture her." My teeth ground together as her vile breath brushed against the side of my face, "Do you still feel this way about those other Naga-spawn? Perhaps Lord Grima should know about this… compromising bit of information. I doubt he'd want to trust a top agent that still holds sympathy for those worms."

She moved around my head, long fingernails brushing along the back of my neck like icy daggers. A snarl flashed over my lips, and Avera's venomous voice slipped into my other ear.

"Oh, I know why you are this way?" A low, evil laugh slammed into me, "That little one you had with Mad Henry is still in your heart." My blood turned cold, "Does Lord Grima know that your allegiance isn't fully with him? Perhaps, in order to make certain of it, we should capture that timid brat and-"

I didn't give her the chance to finish that sentence. My scalding tea splashed into her face, causing Aversa to let out a pain-filled screech. She stumbled backward, and, before she could recover, I drew my spellbook. A dense ball of yellow lightning crackled to life in my free hand. Aversa wiped away the scalding liquid from her eyes with the back of her hand. She glared at me, ready to enact retribution, until she saw the Thoron primed in my grasp.

"Let's not forget," I breathed, my voice shaking with barely held back fury, "who is the more powerful mage here, Witch." I glowered at her as I stepped towards her, until our faces were mere inches apart. So close, that if I wanted to, I could stab her rather than blast her with the Thoron, "You said I know little of Grima. Perhaps you know even less than I. After all, who called him friend long before he decided to rise and take his destiny? Certainly not you."

Aversa snarled down at me, "You called his weak Avatar a friend. Do not fail to make that distinction."

"Are they not one and the same?" I countered, "My old friend would hold just as much empathy for the enemy as I do. After all, how else can you defeat your enemy, unless you know them so well as to empathize with them?"

I stepped back from Aversa, my feet gliding over the lush, indigo rug I had spread out in my tent. Yet another thing to help me try to stay warm in this icy hellhole of a land. Curse and damn Regna Ferox! It is not natural for human beings to live like this. Once this war was over, I hope Grima decides to reshape the world into a sweltering paradise, like Plegia was before this whole terrible conflict began.

Before either Aversa or I could continue our verbal sparring match, a rush of wind like a hurricane swept through the tent, blowing the walls off of their stakes in the cold ground, and revealing the Risen army that lay dormant around the ruins of Arena Ferox. Only one being in the world could conjure such a violent blast of wind like the one that raked through my tent. My heart skipped a beat or two in my chest as a section of dormant Risen parted, making way for their Master to walk towards my tent.

A small smile crossed my lips as I caught sight of that purple, gold, and black coat. Such a familiar sight, and one that warmed my heart more than any tea could. He may look different than when I first met him over twenty years ago, but Grima still managed to impress me.

My initial impression of him faded though, when I saw that beneath his drawn hood, blood was dripping down his face. In fact, there were multiple bloody patches beneath his coat. My eyes widened, but before I could move forward to provide assistance, Aversa moved first.

"My Lord!" Aversa exclaimed, reaching out to help him with a hand. A hand he swatted away.

Instead of accepting Aversa's help, he strode powerfully into the tent on his own, then sank into my chair. A deep breath left his lips, then he drew back his hood, revealing a jagged gash over one of his eyes, and several harsh burns along his jaw. The eye with the gash remained closed, blackened and bloody. His one good eye glared at me and Aversa.

"The both of you will move to take the Longfort tomorrow." He muttered, making my eyes widen.

"Of course, Lord Grima!" Aversa the Brown-Nosing Witch declared, "Your will shall be done. The Longfort will be attacked and-"

"Not attack." Grima growled, "Take."

I furrowed my brow. We have not taken such an aggressive stance against Ylisse since the Siege of Themis. I shivered as I recalled those dark days, back when I stood on the other side of the battle lines. During that Siege, I learned how hopeless this struggle was for the living that refused to align with the Fell Dragon. Perhaps that sense of despair was what caused me to forsake the mission Lady Tiki gave me during the last days of that terrible siege, and join Grima.

_I do wish the others could see the futility of it all._

"Very well then." Aversa said, "We shall take the Longfort, and wipe out the Feroxi barbarians still holding it. From there, we shall-"

"Move immediately south and sweep Nixtas aside. Burn it to ashes." Grima snarled, eyes burning with excitement, and causing my relief at seeing his arrival to turn to anxiety.

Why would Grima take such an aggressive stance all of a sudden? What has occurred that could cause him to forsake all caution? The entire reason why, as far as I was aware, that we avoided Ylisse was because they now possessed four of the five Emblem Gems, and who knows what powers could be utilized by the Exalted Bloodline with that. On top of that unknown, Lady Tiki still stood on their side. A being equal in power to Lord Grima, and the only one who could… inflict… serious damage…

"Lady Tiki is no more." I breathed in disbelief.

Grima's one working eye lit up with delight, "Indeed, she is not." An evil grin spread over his lips. A grin I never saw on my old friend's face, "She and some pesky thieves attempted to steal Sable from me. But they failed, and she died as a result."

_Pesky thieves? _I wondered. Gaius would not be one of them, since I had the misfortune of slaying the wily thief. That would mean Anna and that new Shepherd, the clever one that managed to make me lose my temper, were the ones to break into Doluna.

"You don't seem surprised?" I mentioned.

Grima chuckled under his breath, "Why should I be surprised? That was the only move they had left on the board. Now they are in check, and it is time for us to finish this little game." He snapped his head over to Aversa, "Begin the march. Vykrik will join you on the front line."

Aversa's eyes widened at the mention of the fearsome Deadlord. This time I could sympathize with Aversa. Such a fell creature as Vykrik shouldn't exist in this world. Every time he was in my presence left me rattled. Thankfully, the Deadlord served Grima, much as we did. As long as it was on our side, I would cooperate with it.

I moved to follow Aversa out of the tent, only for Grima's hand to snap out and catch me by my wrist. My eyes darted down, and I could just make out the Brand of the Defile etched onto his pale hand.

"You stay." He breathed, showing some weakness for the first time as he slumped a little in his seat.

I gave Grima a slow nod, and sank down into the chair opposite of him. He drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes a moment as he laid his head back against the chair.

"I must admit," He began, "Tiki gave me much more of a fight than I anticipated."

I pursed my lips, "So you knew she would join the party that would attempt to steal Sable?"

His good eyes snapped open, alight with satisfaction, "Of course. How else could they hope to escape such a place with me expecting them." His hands tapped the armrest of the chair, "Although, I did not anticipate the thief they sent. He was quite… fun."

"He?" I replied, "Gaius is dead."

"I am now aware, thank you for _not_ telling me." He growled, making me pale in my seat, "No, this one was a timid thing. But at the same time, he had nerve. A curious courage that I honestly respect, even if it is only a little bit." A snarl formed on his features, "What I do not respect is his manner of escape."

I watched him shift uncomfortably in his seat, one hand reaching between his legs.

"Ah, Gaius and Anna taught that one well, then."

"Quite well." Grima growled, "And despite his obvious closeness to both of them, we know nothing about him." He leaned back in his seat again, mood shifting to a contemplative one as his hand stroked his bare chin, "That concerns me."

I raised my brow, "And why would it concern you, my lord?" His gaze shifted back to me as I spoke, "They failed to steal Sable. They are cornered now, with nowhere to run or hide, and no one to fend you off anymore. Why would a lowly thief worry you so?"

"Unknown variables concern me." Grima snarled, "And this is not a lowly thief, since he managed to catch me off guard despite me expecting the Shepherds to try and steal Sable. Tell me, what do you know about this new thief?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line, "If it is who I think you are speaking of, then not much." My eyes then widened as I recalled the words he said that enraged me when he slipped and Gules slipped from my grasp, "He knows."

Grima furrowed his brow, "Knows?"

I nodded, "The thief knows about you."

Silence in reply. Cold silence, and Grima shrank within it. I saw a flash of worry rush over his features, before his brow furrowed into deep contemplation.

"How?"

I shrugged, "I'm not sure. I only know because he managed to taunt me with such knowledge."

"Not even my own children are aware of who I am." Grima muttered, running a hand along his bruised and bloodied jaw, "This is unexpected." The concern I saw on his face grew, "What else does this thief know?"

I grimaced, "I don't know. Gaius freed him, Anna, and Princess Lucina before I had a chance to interrogate him in Port Ferox."

Grima's gaze hardened on me, "He was at Port Ferox as well?"

I gave Grima a slow, careful nod, "He assisted in rescuing the Princess and Anna."

A snarl passed over Grima's features, and I shrank beneath it. With all the blood, gashes, and bruising on his face, he looked more like a beast than the old friend I once knew. His red eye blazed with anger as he rose from his seat.

"This thief is not a variable. He is a wild card, and a dangerous one at that." He drew in a breath, "If he knows, then we must assume that the other Shepherds are aware of who I am. Which means we cannot give them a moment to breathe."

He marched towards the tent's exit, and I rose from my seat to follow.

"What do you intend to do, my lord?" I called after him, my anxiety growing into a sharp pang in my chest.

He paused at my door. Slowly his head turned, and I saw an evil gleam in his red eye. One that made my heart stop in my chest.

"It is time to stamp out the Naga-spawn once and for all. We will forgo Nixtas. Once the Longfort falls, we march on Ylisstol."

Panic filled me, "What about the others-"

"They will die!" He roared back at me, shocking me. I took a step back, stunned by the raw fury I saw on his features. He must have noticed my horrified look, because his expression softened a little, which only made his next words seem even more terrifying, "Did you really think you could save them by changing sides, Tharja? Did you think you held more sway over my mind than myself?"

My mouth turned dry, and my throat constricted. Grima chuckled to himself, and said nothing else. He marched away from my tent and into the throngs of now active Risen that moved like a black tide south.

A tear dripped down my cheek as I watched the black sea march. A shuddering breath left my lips, and my fists tightened at my sides. Despair washed over me, and it took all my willpower to not crumble where I stood.

_You were right, Aversa._

I swallowed hard, and turned to take down my tent. A few brigands approached to assist, and I said nothing to them. I briefly glanced back at Grima as a golden flash of warp magic washed over him. My old friend did not live in that body anymore. What a fool I was to believe differently.

**And chapter! And thus, the heist arc is complete, and it ends in defeat. Our heroes are really on the ropes now, and they have very few options left. It's going to be a desperate, and wild, ride going forward now. I'm going to hit the gas pedal on the pacing now, so hold on to your butts going forward, it's going to be fun! **

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!  
**

**Also, come join the Treehouse discord server! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Aaaaaand, there is a _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, Narwhal Lord, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts, and we talk about fanfiction, writing advice, and even our own writing experiences and what we have learned through our writing journeys. Our way of passing on advice and tips to those of you who are curious, or even want to try your hand at fic writing as well! You can find the podcast on Spotify, and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	32. The Wild Card

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 30

The Wild Card

I miss pancakes. French toast too, and waffles, God, I could go for some thick, fluffy waffles with maple syrup and strawberries. Instead, I sat at the barrack's bar munching on some bland toast with a few slabs of butter. Not even good toast either considering I made them in a cast-iron skillet in the fireplace. The outside was black as coal, with the burnt taste barely masked by the butter. I prefer my toast to be lightly golden, but I didn't feel like waking any of the other Shepherds so they could cook for me. In light of recent events, it felt wrong to bother the others with such a trivial request.

And so, I bit into another piece of burnt toast, chewed once, then winced as my wounded shoulder ached. The wound had only recently begun to heal. While on the road home, I had a couple of vulneraries poured onto the charred, and now scarring, skin. But given our lack of a healer, I wasn't able to get proper, magical treatment until last night, when Brady took a look at it.

My chewing slowed as my mind wandered to the events of the past couple of weeks. It all felt like the blur now. I could barely remember any of the events that occurred on the road to Doluna, beyond revealing to my traveling companions that I was from another reality. On the flip side, I could remember so much about the swift escape from Doluna. I could still see Lon'qu's death at Vykrik's hands in my mind. I could still feel the terror churning through my gut as Grima rose from the sandy mountains, ready to wipe us out for daring to break into his home. I could still feel the despair I had when I realized Tiki breathed her last breath.

_God… _My arms went limp against the countertop, fingers gripping my last piece of toast loosely. _I still need to tell Anna._

But what can I tell her? How could I possibly speak to her about Tiki's death? Not only did I fail to keep my promise, but my failure amounted to absolutely nothing. Tiki died for nothing. According to Morgan, the Sable I stole turned out to be nothing more than a useless ball of glass. I drew in a deep breath, that terrible thought remaining in my mind, and stealing my appetite from me.

What does any of our fighting amount to anymore? All of our hopes were pinned upon obtaining Sable. Without that gem, the Fire Emblem cannot be completed, and whatever power is unlocked by such a thing cannot be utilized against Grima. At this point, any fighting was simply delaying the inevitable.

Even more horrifying, what if all of our fighting, even when we tried to steal Sable, was in vain? I thought back to the terrifying chess match I had with Grima himself, inside of Doluna's palace. For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that Grima was not surprised by our arrival. He expected someone to try and steal Sable at some point. And the scariest part of this realization, for me, is that he let it happen. Grima simply let us walk right in, knowing that the two easiest access points to his home were Morgan's Secret Passage, and the sewers. Despite expecting thieves, he still didn't kill me right away. Instead, he wanted to play a game.

God… Grima was toying with me, toying with us, toying with everyone who just wanted to live in this hellish world. He knew that our last possible move, our last hope, rested with Sable, and so he made sure to dangle Sable just out of reach. A final taunt, and an everlasting amusement, for the Monster. All of this made Tiki's death seem even more in vain than before, and I wanted to just curl into a ball on the floor.

However, I could not do that. No, not in some sort of metaphorical way. I literally could not bring myself to curl into a ball and let sadness rush out of me. No crying in a soldier's house; that annoying mantra continued to rule over me, and I could not shake it.

I set my last piece of toast down on the wooden plate in front of me, and nudged the plate away, no longer hungry. As I pushed my plate away, the door to the barracks opened.

"Thatta boy, get in there!" A gruff, woman's voice said as four, padded feet bounded through the barracks common room, followed by the loud stomp of boots.

I glanced over to the door and saw Happy rushing towards me. The black dog skidded to a stop beside my stool, immediately sat down, and panted as it looked up at me. I couldn't help but smile down at the large dog. I reached down and ran a hand between his ears, as the barrack's door shut.

"Whatcha doing now ya mutt- oh!" I flicked my gaze up to the door and saw a woman with short red hair, red armor, and relaxed expression on her face sauntering into the barracks, "Didn't realize someone was living here."

I shrugged, "To be fair, it's been a few weeks." I turned in my seat so I could face the woman, "I've gotten kinda used to sleeping on the cold ground, but nothing beats a mattress."

"Har! I can agree with that." The woman nodded, marching over to a seat beside, "But I've been stuck in a damn bed for way too long lately. Had to get up and stretch my legs."

_Stuck in bed? _I thought, wondering who exactly this woman was. I studied her face a moment, noticing faint worry and stress lines along the corners of her mouth and eyes. A small scar rested on her upper lip, and another thin scar sat above her right eyebrow. They were freshly healed from the looks of things since the scar tissue was still pink. For the life of me, I could not pinpoint who exactly this person was.

"Ah shit, sorry," The woman grunted, holding out a right hand with four fingers towards me, "Forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? Name's Sully."

_Oh! _

A faint memory rushed through my mind. A memory of the last time I was in Ylisstol, back when Gaius was still alive, and the only thing I had to worry about was making it to the Longfort alive. That entire mission was sparked by Sully's shocking message she delivered as she clung to life atop her horse.

Needless to say, she looked a lot better without all the dried blood and bruises marring her features.

"Samwise," I replied, not thinking twice as I took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Oh! So you're this Samwise I've heard so much about?" Sully remarked, letting my hand go and glancing at my last piece of toast, "Ya gonna eat that?"

"Uh… no?"

"Thanks, then."

I raised an eyebrow, watching as she quickly bit into the toast. She paused after her first bite, swallowed, and gave me a nod.

"That's good stuff."

"It's burnt to cinders."

"And?" Sully replied with a shrug, "Food's food. All goes to the same place." She took another bite then glanced at me again. As she did, Happy uttered a quiet groan, "Yeah, I see it too, Mutt."

"See what?" I replied.

One of Sully's fingers on the hand that held her toast pointed at me, "Ya've got something eating at you." She took a third bite of toast, "I hope it's not the toast, cause then it's gonna be a rough couple hours for me coming up."

That managed to elicit a quiet laugh from me, "No, no, it's not the toast."

I pursed my lips. If there were anyone who could give me an honest opinion on me talking with Anna, it'd be Sully. She's the furthest removed from this situation, and (if her in-game personality is real) won't mince words with me.

"May I ask you a question?"

"Ya just did," Sully grunted with her mouth full of her last bite of toast. She licked three of her four fingers, "But, if ya got to, just say the damn question. No need to ask if I want to hear it. If I don't, I'll tell ya."

"Okay then?" I replied, then cleared my throat, "What would you do if you had to give someone bad news and-"

"Fucking tell them."

"You didn't let me finish. And-"

"There's no 'and'." Sully grunted, interrupting me again, "I can guarantee ya this, whoever ya gotta talk to will appreciate it more if ya talk to them right away, rather than wait and beat around the bush. Doesn't matter who it is." She rose from her seat, moved towards the water barrel, grabbed a glass from behind the bar, and poured herself a cup of water, "Well… unless it's Maribelle, then I'd say wait for a good moment."

"Well, it's not Maribelle."

"Then you're safe." Sully shrugged, bringing her cup to her lips.

"It's Anna."

Sully choked on her water. A few sharp coughs wracked her lungs, and she winced, pain flashing over her face. She swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, then looked at me.

"Fuck, that's worse than Maribelle."

My stomach dropped, "Oh… great."

A rough hand smacked me between the shoulder blades, "I may've just met you," Sully continued, "But I'll say nice things at your funeral."

"That'll only happen if I go talk to her."

Sully threw her head back and laughed as she walked towards the door. She glanced back at me, and shook her head,

"Wrong again, bud." Sully said between pity filled laughs, "If ya don't tell her now, then the end result will be even more painful for ya. Anna's the opposite of Maribelle, in that ya better be upfront with her, or you're gonna feel it later." She grabbed the door and whistled for Happy to follow her out, "Good luck, Samwise. Oh, we'll chat later too. Kjelle has mentioned ya a few times, so maybe we'll chat during dinner or something."

Before I could say 'so long', the door shut behind her and Happy, leaving me alone in the barracks again. I slumped in my seat, flicking my eyes down to my empty plate. A heavy sigh left my lips as I looked down at the scattered crumbs.

"I should've kept eating."

* * *

The first clue something was wrong: Anna's shop was closed. I don't care what is going on in the world at the moment; this was a bad sign. Be it sunny, or stormy, peacetime, or war, Anna's shop is always open, especially since she's determined to liquidate her inventory so she can leave the continent. So when I came upon her closed tent, with two empty tables in front of it, the tables damp from an overnight rainstorm, I swallowed an anxious breath.

Then I exhaled, and remained frozen in front of her make-shift shop, unsure if I should venture in or not. The usual hustle and bustle of the market district milled around me, not even noticing me have a mental dilemma. A few people cast curious looks towards Anna's tent, no doubt puzzled by it being closed, but no one said anything. That was for the best, because I couldn't figure out what to say to anyone right now, much less Anna.

Sully's advice rushed through my mind, and I drew in a deep breath. With what little courage I possessed, I stepped towards the tent and peeled the flap back.

Shock filled me when I saw how sparse the interior was. The last time I visited the tent was when Gaius had me snatch Anna's brooch from her so many months ago now. Back then, this tent was filled to the brim with wares, crates of goods, jars of anything and everything edible. But now, it was empty. There were a couple of crates still sitting within the tent, mostly filled with bronze weapons that had a few nicks and dings in their edges, as well as some containers filled with foodstuff that Anna kept for herself, but beyond that, nothing.

That made spotting Anna, curled up on her bedroll with her back facing the entry, easy. It also made it alarmingly simple to see the two empty bottles of firewine next to her bedroll, along with crumpled up notes torn out of a journal of some kind.

I wasn't sure if she was sleeping or not, so I quietly tip-toed further into the tent, only to nearly jump out of my skin when I heard Cluckers cluck from his wicker cage off to the side. That cluck caused Anna to mumble something, then she snored softly, and I relaxed.

_Still asleep. _I glanced at the empty bottles next to her, _And it'll hurt when she wakes up._

Part of me thought about leaving, and letting Anna get over the oncoming hangover before I spoke to her. But… something about that did not feel right. She was already hurting enough as it is, and now I was going to hurt her even more, but that did not mean I had to leave her like this.

Now, I am mildly ashamed to say that I have been absolutely plastered before. It has not happened in a long time, but I know exactly what is coming Anna's way as soon as her eyes open. In my personal experience, there is no way to lessen the pain. However, a good breakfast and plenty of water tend to dull the pain a little bit. I glanced over at the small space made in her tent for a firepit and spotted a few stray logs near it. Next, I noticed a cast-iron skillet.

_I might not be able to cook, but damn it, I'm going to try. _

I grabbed the skillet out of the pack it was nestled in and held it in my hands. Next, I moved towards the crate of personal foodstuff and glanced inside. There was plenty of salted meat, pickled vegetables and fruits, jams, even a loaf of bread. But what caught my eye immediately were eggs and a pack of salted bacon. If there is one thing I can cook, and cook quite well actually, it is eggs.

I grabbed the carton of eggs, and the rashers of bacon, then pulled up a stool alongside the small fire pit. Carefully, I stacked some logs onto the ashes that remained in the pit, then lit them with a nearby flint and steel. Once the fire got going, I placed some strips of bacon into the skillet, let them sizzle a few minutes, then cracked three eggs into the greasy pan.

Of all things to wake Anna up too, it was the sound of bacon grease popping, and me cussing as some of the molten liquid jumped up onto my right thumb as I flipped the bacon. I only noticed she was awake when I heard her groan. That's when I flicked my eyes to her bedroll and saw her turn over, eyes squinting at me.

"What's on fire?" She mumbled as a silent belch slipped from her lips.

"Um… wood, for now." I replied, "Hopefully it stays that way."

She raised her head, winced, and let her head fall back down onto her pillow. Her red hair flopped over her eyes, and she spoke again.

"Why wouldn't it stay that way?"

"Well, if anything else catches fire, it'll be your breakfast." I cringed a little bit, "Might not be out of the realm of possibility, considering my cooking abilities used to involve only microwaveable foods."

One of her hands raised her red locks from one of her eyes, "Micro-what?"

I let out a quiet laugh, "Um… gosh, how to explain that?"

A long groan came from Anna, causing me to laugh again, "Is it one of those stupid, other world, thingies that you can't explain despite knowing it?"

I nodded, "Pretty much. Eggs and bacon?"

Another groan, "I hurt."

"That's why I cooked the eggs in the bacon grease."

Anna wiped the rest of her hair from her eyes, "You did not?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line, "I did?"

She sat up and glared at me. Heavy bags and dry tear stains sat beneath her raw, red eyes. She sniffled, winced, and massaged her forehead.

"Thank Naga you did. I'm gonna need it."

_I didn't screw up this time! Sweet!_

"Figured as much," I replied, flipping the eggs over, and uttering another loud curse as more bacon popped onto my hand. I heard Anna snort at me, which made me wag the spatula I was using at her, "I'll have you know, that despite how many injuries I've gotten, they will never hurt more than hot grease burns or papercuts."

Now she chuckled, and my stomach twisted hard. Look at me, getting her in a good mood before absolutely destroying her day. Such a great friend I am.

I jabbed the egg yolks with the spatula, and nodded to myself, satisfied by the amount of jiggle I saw. I reached for a grease-stained towel in the pack that had the skillet and used it to pull the skillet from the fire. Next, I grabbed a wood plate and plated Anna's food for her. My mouth watered a little as I smelled the bacon, and, if I didn't have to go through a talk that I dreaded with her, I probably would have made some food for myself too. That being said, I'd rather not run away on a full stomach.

As I placed the eggs and bacon on the plate, Anna finally moved from her bedroll. When I say moved, I do not mean she got up and walked. She flopped over onto her belly, crawled over to the other stool that was next to the fire, then climbed onto the seat in a manner so unsteady that I was worried she was about to fall back and pass out again. Thankfully, she managed to steady herself, and I handed her the plate.

"Thanks." She muttered, voice hoarse. As she dug in, she noticed me sitting silently next to her, "You're not going to eat?"

I drew in a deep breath, "Not hungry."

To my surprise, she held out a slice of bacon to me, "Ya need to. You're scrawny enough as it is."

I knew better than to reject her offer. With a thankful nod, I took the bacon and popped it into my mouth.

_Not as good as maple or apple-wood smoked, but it'll do. _I thought.

"So," Anna muttered between bites, "why are you here?"

I pursed my lips. Now or never, Sam.

"I- well- I wanted to check on you for one, and… well, I need to tell you something."

"You failed," Anna muttered, causing my mouth to fall open.

"Wh-what do you-" I cleared my throat, "Well, um… how do you-"

"Why else would you be here?" She croaked, as I saw fresh tears mist in her eyes. She set her fork down and swallowed the food she had in her mouth. A shaky breath left her lips, "You didn't get Sable. Grima played you."

My mouth felt dry, and all I could do was nod.

"Figures." She blew out an alcohol-laced breath, then winced again, "Fuck, this hangover hurts."

"How did you guess?" I blurted out.

Anna's misty eyes darted from her plate to me, "Sam, we've been around each other enough for me to know when you are nervous as shit. The only reason you'd be this fidgety, or even attempt to cook me food, which is surprisingly decent by the way- well done, is if you had to tell me about something bad that you did."

I gulped as she spoke. She took another bite of egg, swallowed, then sat back on her stool a little bit.

"So, you're probably expecting me to rip into you for all of this, hm?" She turned her head to me, and I could smell the alcohol still lacing her breath, "Probably expecting me to yell at you for failing to protect her?"

Guilt washed over me, and I nodded.

A hand crashed against my cheek. I didn't cry out when Anna slapped me. I simply stared stunned at her as she returned to eating her food after smacking me.

"Uh…" I raised my brow, "What-"

"That's for failing the mission." She grunted.

I swallowed, "And Tiki?"

Her eyes closed, and she drew in a deep breath, "Only Grima himself could have killed her, which means you all ran into some serious trouble in Doluna. It isn't your fault she's dead. What could you have done, killed Grima?"

I thought about that for a moment. And in a way, maybe I could have? I did sit down and speak with him after all.

"Maybe…" I breathed, causing Anna to give me a puzzled look, "I- well, when I broke into the Palace, I wandered into Grima's room."

"He was in human form?" Anna asked, one brow arched as she munched on a strip of bacon.

"Y-yeah." I drew in a shaky breath as that entire, terrifying interaction replayed in my mind.

"How did you get away?"

I wrung my hands in my lap, "Managed to keep him entertained by playing chess and confusing the shit out of him about where I come from." Anna snorted a little at that, "Then I kicked him in the balls and ran."

Her eyes bugged from her skull, and to my complete shock, laughter bubbled from her throat. She raised a finger, stopping me from saying anything further. A few more laughs spilled from her lips, and she shook her head. I could see a stray tear dripping down her left cheek.

"I would've rather you stabbed the bastard, but that's good enough."

"Anna, look I'm-"

"If you're going to apologize, don't." Anna snarled, making my mouth snap closed, "Can you control what Tiki or Grima did? No. Hell, I couldn't even do that back when I knew Grima as a friend and Tiki as…" She trailed off, and another tear dripped down her cheek, "The point is," She continued, "there's nothing you could have done. So, don't apologize."

She finished off her last strip of bacon, set her plate to the side, and wiped her greasy hands on her trousers.

"So, the next thing you need to do-"

"That _I_ need to do?"

"Yes," Anna nodded, wiping her hand over her mouth as she leaned closer to the fire, "you need to help the others figure out what to do next."

I looked at her, confused, "What do you mean? There's nothing we can do next. We don't have Sable, and Tiki is dead, what can we possibly-"

"That ritual you mentioned, back when you told me everything in Nixtas." Anna said, cutting me off and rendering me silent, "Any idea how it works?"

I drew back in my seat. Unfortunately, for both of us, the game never really went into detail about how the time-travel ritual was achieved. At least that I can remember. Forgive me for not having played Awakening for a while, but I was a bit busy trying to pay rent and afford minute-rice.

I shook my head, "I don't know. I know it has something to do with the Emblem, Naga, and… and Mt. Prism."

Anna arched an eyebrow, "Mt. Prism?"

"Yeah."

She drew in a deep breath, "Well, then, you better go tell Morgan."

My eyes widened, "Whoa, hold on. Tell Morgan? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No," Anna replied with a shrug, "But what other choice do we have? Mind getting me a waterskin, by the way?"

"Uh, sure."

I rose to my feet, spun around the tent, and spotted a waterskin hanging on a post next to Clucker's cage. I snagged it and passed it over to Anna, who quickly took a long gulp from it.

A satisfied sound left Anna's lips when she pulled the waterskin away, "Now, Morgan is the tactician. And, contrary to what some of the kids might say, is as voracious a researcher as Laurent or Miriel. If anyone can figure out what exactly that ritual involves, it'd be her. She's aware that you're from another world, so I think she'll believe you on this too."

"Believe me?" I scoffed, "She nearly killed me because she thought I was lying."

"Has she tried to kill you recently?"

I fell silent.

"Exactly." Anna continued. She then furrowed her brow, "Although, now that I think about it, you'll need someone there to back you up." She rubbed her forehead, "Find me a couple of vulneraries."

"Do you want to wait until the hangover is gone?" I asked, rising from my stool along with Anna.

Anna swayed where she stood, and glared at me, "Do you think Grima is going to give you that kind of time?"

"Fair point." I nodded, moving towards another pack that I knew contained her various medical supplies. I rummaged through it and found two vulneraries, "And don't you mean us?"

Anna snatched both vulneraries from me, popped both corks, and drank both at the same time. She winced as the liquid ran down her throat. In an instant, I saw color return to her features. The bags under her eyes became less pronounced, but they remained raw from the tears she cried during the night.

"Don't worry about it." She muttered, "Besides, if this time-travel thing is true, then everyone will make it. So, I've got nothing to worry about, other than helping you make sure this all goes according to what you know."

"Which isn't much." I countered.

"But, it's enough." Anna replied, hand pulling the tent exit open, "Now, you coming or not?"

I drew in one more deep breath. Anna was right. The only move we had left now was the time travel ritual. As I thought about it a moment, my heart rose. This is a ritual Grima has no clue about. A wild card in the fight.

"Yeah," I moved past her, out of the tent, my strides filled with renewed purpose, "Let's go tell Morgan."

* * *

I knocked once on Morgan's study door. No answer. Not surprising, this is Morgan's study, and the last time I knocked on the door back in Nixtas, she didn't answer. She claimed the reason was that she did not want to be disturbed. Personally, I believe she didn't notice me knocking, because she was so engrossed in her work at the time. Right now, I wondered whether she had any work to do.

I glanced over at Anna, who gave me a shrug. This time, she reached forward and gave the door a swift knock. Again, no answer. I arched an eyebrow, and Anna rolled her eyes.

"Damn kid." She muttered, grabbing and twisting the doorknob, "Never pays attention."

She shoved the door open, and we marched into a dimly lit study. Three candles burned in the room, one near the door, one on a table near a bookshelf, and one on Morgan's desk. At one time, this study must've looked like quite the office. There were three bookshelves along the walls of the room. Finally, there was a large desk in front of a window with drawn shades, and a couple of chairs in front of that desk as well as one behind it, and a smaller table to sit at when not working.

However, none of it looked good. Papers were strewn across the floor, desk, and chairs. Some were torn to shreds, resembling confetti. A few scraps were burnt to cinders, leaving nothing but flaky charcoal on the surface they rested on. One of the chair's legs had been knocked loose. Several inkwells lay spilled on the desk and floor, staining the once royal blue rug over the wood floors black. Books were thrown across the room and lay in haphazard stacks on the bookshelf. Several shelves on the bookshelf were snapped in half, or were tilted so that no books could sit level on them. Lastly, a knife was half-buried in the desk.

No sign of Morgan.

I swallowed and glanced over at Anna. As I opened my mouth to say something, Anna raised a hand, silencing me. She quietly shut the door behind her, and that's when I heard the sniffles.

Both Anna and I turned to our right. Morgan sat on the floor; her knees tucked close to her chest. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks, and harsh sniffles wracked her nose as she fought to keep from crying out loud. She did not bother to look up at us. Her eyes remained glued to the far wall. A glazed over look that told me she was not seeing the study, or us, right now.

Anna knelt down next to Morgan.

"Hey," Anna muttered, her voice soft, but loud enough to jar Morgan from wherever her mind was, "Um… how are you ho-"

"How do you think?" Morgan snarled, sniffling hard and quickly wiping tears from her eyes with her sleeve. She shot to her feet and marched towards her desk, boots crunching atop shreds of paper and ripped up books. When she reached her desk, she paused and leaned against it, her chin tucked to her chest as she hid her face from us.

"Obviously not good." Anna replied, rising to her feet as well, "But I thought I should at least ask."

"Not good?" Morgan snorted, "Understatement of the day there." She reached up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Everything's ruined. I-" She shook her head as her voice choked up, "I can't win this. Grima's too- too-"

A frustrated, angry cry left her lips, and a stray fireball shot from her right hand. It spun out of control through the room before fizzling out over her desk. When it died, Morgan sagged where she stood, and slowly sank down to a seat, her back pressed against her desk. Now she let quiet sobs flow freely, thin streams of tears running down her face without care.

"It's over, guys." She raised her head, "Over. Anna, you've got the right idea to get the hell out. Because-because-" She gestured at the mess around the room, "I've spent all day and all of last night trying to figure it out. Trying to find some way to win. Some way to stop Grima. But without Sable… we're doomed."

Anna opened her mouth to speak, but Morgan continued, cutting her off.

"Look at me." She scoffed, voice cracking, "I'm supposed to be the Shepherd's Tactician, like father. I'm supposed to be the level-headed one with all of the answers to all of our problems. I'm supposed to know what to do when all odds are against us. But- but I have no idea what to do anymore. Grima has beaten me at every turn and-"

"And are you going to continue throwing a pity party, are you gonna listen to what Sam has to say to you?" Anna interrupted, folding her arms over her chest.

A flash of anger shot over Morgan's face, "Excuse me for finally breaking down. Only took six years of never-ending warfare, death, and failure to finally cause it."

"Well, you can continue to feel sorry for yourself now, or you can hear about the solution Sam knows." Anna countered.

Morgan knitted her brow, "And what solution could Samwise possibly have?" A mocking sound left her lips, "He's not even from this world. What dog does he have in this fight."

I shrugged, "Well, don't exactly know how to get home, so I'd say as long as I'm stuck here I'd prefer to stay alive." Morgan glared at me as I spoke, "And by extension, that means I'd like to make sure you all live too. Although… not sure how likely it is that all of us make it, but we do have to try."

Morgan's mouth fell open. She was quiet for a second, then laughter laced with quiet sobs left her lips. She hung her head, more sad laughter leaving her lips.

"Naga damn it. All of the rest know we're through, and the two people who believe we still stand a chance are the out-worlder and the merchant that wants to run."

Anna's eyes narrowed at Morgan, but I didn't see any offense in her gaze. If anything, when I saw Anna's eyes dart to the side as Morgan raised her head to look at us again, I detected a shred of guilt.

"Fine…" Morgan exhaled, "What's your grand idea? How do we win?"

I pursed my lips, "Well… the short answer is, we don't."

Morgan knitted her brow, "Well aware of that fact, so how does that help us?"

"We don't win now." I continued, "But we can win in the past."

Now Morgan looked flustered. A few stray tears continued to bubble in her eyes, but she didn't look as sad anymore. I could practically see her wracking her brain as she tried to understand what I said, only for her to shake her head.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Sam's talking about Time Travel," Anna said.

"I get that; it's pretty damn obvious." Morgan snapped, causing Anna to clench her jaw. Morgan must've noticed Anna's displeasure too, because she paled, sank back in her seat, and ran her hands over her face, "Oh, gawds, I'm starting to sound like Severa."

That caused me to chuckle a little bit, "Not a bad thing. Means you're not the cold person you try to portray yourself to be."

Morgan let out a loud exhale, "Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to keep up the strong demeanor. I honestly wonder how Lucy does it sometimes. Last night was really the first time I've seen her truly crack." She puffed out another breath, the tears beginning to dry in her eyes. She shook her head and glanced up at me again, "Alright, so… time travel, how?"

Anna glanced at me, "Yeah, Sam, how?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. How the hell do I explain this again? I mean, can I really explain the time travel bit while not knowing at all how it works, or how it even happened in the original game? The story was always quite vague about it all, and given the amount of time it has been since I've refreshed myself on the story, I did doubt my ability to recall the necessary information.

_Just do your best. _

"Where I come from, there is a story," I began, "A story about Prince Chrom and the Shepherds, and their trials."

Morgan stared at me, stone-faced.

"Do you really expect me to believe tha-"

"I believe it." Anna interrupted, "He proved it to both of us already, after all."

Morgan frowned at both of us, "Oh, right. Little Lady Genius… you know that from the story?"

I nodded, "Yes. And in this story, Lucina leads the kids of the Shepherds back in time in order to stop Grima. Unfortunately, the story never elaborated on how she managed to do that."

"Then how does this help us at all?" Morgan blurted out, her cheeks turning a bit red with frustration.

"Use your head, Morgan." Anna frowned, "It gives us a place to start."

Morgan fell silent at that. Her brow knitted once more as she worked her jaw, pondering what I said. Without a word, she hopped to her feet, and scanned the torn-up books on the ground, before snapping her gaze to the broken bookshelves along the walls. I could hear her muttering to herself as she scanned the various titles.

After several moments, she snatched a book from the shelf and tossed it onto her ink-stained, charred desk.

"I'm going to guess that, since Lucina was the one to do the time travel thing, it has something to do with her being one of the Exalted Bloodline?"

I nodded, "That's probably right."

"Probably?" Morgan replied, taking a seat at her desk and tearing the book open.

"It's been a while since I've heard the story in its totality, so the details are a little fuzzy."

"Details is what I need," Morgan grumbled, her fingers leafing through pages.

Anna walked around the desk and peered down at the book Morgan leafed through. Her brow rose in confusion as she looked down at the words scribbled down on the page.

"What does Lucina's bloodline have to do with this?" Anna asked.

Morgan ran a hand through her hair, "That's what I'm trying to figure out." She leafed through a few more pages, and I could see her frustration growing, "If it has something to do with Lucina's bloodline then that means Naga must be involved in some capacity or another but," Her head shook, "the only member of Naga's direct bloodline was Tiki and, well…"

My heart sank a little at that. I never considered that maybe Tiki was important to the time travel ritual. How else could the Shepherds have contacted Naga in order to learn about the ritual? Before this terrible war, Tiki was known as the Voice of Naga, and for damn good reason too. While she might not have talked to Naga directly, she did express the divine dragon's will.

_And of all the useless crap to know, it couldn't be something to do with this damn ritual._

Morgan uttered a growl, and smacked the book closed, "I'm gonna have to talk with Miriel and Laurent."

Fear rushed through me as Morgan rose from her seat and marched to the door, followed by Anna.

"Are you sure that's a good-"

"Yes!" Morgan barked, wheeling around and jabbing a finger into my chest, "And you should've thought of it a lot sooner. If you did, maybe-" her voice cracked again, "maybe Tiki and Lon'qu would still be alive."

Guilt lanced through me like the sharpest of knives. Before Morgan could continue her tirade, Anna cut in, sparing me from another verbal dressing down.

"Let's just get moving, Morgan."

Morgan's glare lingered on me a moment. Finally, she spun around, grabbed the doorknob, and yanked the door open.

"Uh…"

Morgan, Anna, and I stared through the doorway. Instead of a corridor within the Exalt's Palace, we saw a strange, dark room. Dim blue lights, almost like stars, sat on four pedestals in all four corners of the room. A fireplace rested against the far wall, but it was dark, and there was absolutely no soot alone the smooth stones and mantle. A lavish, blue, and green rug lay on the floor, and several sofas and chairs sat on top of it. The room lacked any windows… or any obvious boundaries beyond the far wall. I glanced to my left and right, and noticed the room fade into dense shadows beyond the pedestals of light.

"Where's the hallway?" I asked.

Anna opened her mouth to say something, as her hand drifted towards the dagger on her hip, but a new voice spoke up, making her grip the dagger tight.

"Right in front of you." A new voice said.

All of our gazes whipped to the easy chair that rested closest to one of the fireplaces. One of the most regal looking women I have ever seen. Considering I've been living within the setting of a video game with plenty of those… yeah, I'm getting on a tangent. Regardless of looks, I could tell she was not human from the lime green hair, long pointy ears, and overall sleepy expression on her face as she rested her head in one hand. Although, it did take a lot of willpower for me to keep my eyes on hers, given she wore an outfit with quite the low-cut to the collar.

"But also," The woman continued, pausing to yawn a moment, "it is not in front of you. I am, but I am not. We are between, and it takes a great deal of my power to sustain."

"Wait, you?" Morgan spoke up, stepping further into the room, her boots hardly making a sound on the floor, "Who are you, what is this place, where-"

The woman raised one, pale, slender hand, "Please one question at a time. Maintaining this illusion requires the majority of my concentration." She yawned again, "It also renders me most fatigued."

My brow furrowed. Regal looking woman with extreme magical powers, combined with pointy ears, green hair, and a penchant for being tired all the time-

"You're Naga…" I breathed, my eyes widening in disbelief.

Naga flicked her green eyes to me, "The out-worlder is the first one to notice."

Anna said nothing beside me, though I did see her hand drift off of her dagger. Skepticism laid bare on her face, but she said nothing. Probably because, if this woman was Naga, there's not much a little dagger can do.

"You're Naga?" Morgan replied, taking another step forward, a hint of anger rising in her tone.

Naga tilted her head off of her hand, raising her brow at Morgan, "I detect some hostility, daughter of the Fell-Blood."

"Hostility? Hostility!? Why do you think I'm-" Morgan caught herself as Naga sat further up in her chair. The young tactician bit her lip, and cursed under her breath.

A heavy breath left Naga's lips, "Although, I can see why you would hold such feelings. I must admit, I have been less than active in the course of events within your world. However, I am confined here for reasons that are less than understandable to your kind." I noticed a flash of something cross Naga's face. Was it guilt, remorse, sorrow, a pang of indigestion, I wasn't sure. But when she glanced over at Anna, I saw even more of it enter her sleepy eyes, "I am sorry."

Anna's jaw remained stiff, and she said nothing. Another heavy sigh left Naga's lips, and she returned her gaze to me.

"I-" Naga's mask of regal strength faltered a moment as her voice let out a faint crack. She quickly snapped her mouth shut, taking a deep composing breath, before speaking again, "I felt the death of my daughter."

"Oh, so that's what finally spurred you into action." Morgan snarled, growing more irate by the second, "How many prayers were given to you by scores of dying peasants and soldiers to come save them? How many times did Tiki ask for your help, only to hear nothing?"

Naga closed her eyes, "Contrary to the beliefs of this world; I am not an omnipotent, omniscient god. I am merely a Manakete, albeit a powerful one. If I could have foreseen the events that have passed, then I would have tried to intervene earlier." Her eyes opened, "And now, I fear there is little that can be done to stop the Fell Dragon from claiming dominion over the world. Save for that one possibility you mentioned, Out-Worlder."

I could feel myself shrink beneath Naga's gaze. There was nothing malicious about her stare, but for some reason, I felt tiny beneath those sea-green eyes. Naga might say she isn't a god, but as far as I'm aware, she is the closest thing to one in this world. The fact that she has the power to create an illusion in which we are somehow transported to her realm proves her strength and then some.

A gentle expression passed over her serene features, "Do not fear, Out-Worlder. I will not harm you. However, I must ask you a rather difficult question regarding this time travel theory. Do you have any further details on the matter?"

I grimaced, "Not much that I haven't already told Morgan and Anna. The only other detail I would know is that I think the ritual occurs atop Mount Prism. But I can't say that with any certainty."

Naga gave me a nod, "Understandable."

She drew in a breath, rose from her chair, and walked towards one of the light pedestals. As she approached the pedestal, a bookshelf appeared out of thin… air? Space? Nothingness? Whatever the hell the walls, or lack of walls, were composed of. Regardless, it wasn't there before, now it was, and I'm starting to question my sanity.

Naga ran a thin finger along the spines of several books on a shelf at her eye level, which was surprisingly tall, before plucking one ancient tome. She pried open it's tanned, leather cover, and ran a hand over the somehow pristine pages within the book. Her brow furrowed as she flicked through several pages, before she hummed to herself and smacked the book closed.

"The ritual you speak of is unknown to me."

Her words stole all of the air from my lungs. My knees felt weak as I stood like a statue next to Anna. Morgan glanced over her shoulder at me, a venomous glare that made me gulp with fear. Anna meanwhile, uttered a heavy, shaky breath next to me. She bowed her head, and shook it.

"So, there is no hope." Anna muttered, defeated.

"Did I say that?" Naga replied. She glided along the floor once more. Her feet moving over the exquisite rug as if she was simply floating on a cloud, "The ritual may be unknown to me, but that does not mean I cannot devise one. It will simply take me time."

"Time we don't have." Morgan grunted, "Who knows when Grima is going to make a move now that Tiki isn't here to counter him."

"It will be soon." Naga said, voice filled with warning. A faraway look entered her eyes, which now seemed far more alert than they were before, "He moves now. The barbarians to the north have fallen…" Her voice trailed off, and a grave look entered her eyes, "Yes, there is not much time. I must begin my work, and so must all of you. Mount Prism is where I can manifest my full power for a short while. I will need that strength to perform the ritual you speak of, Out-Worlder, as well as the presence of my blessed bloodline. Make haste there, and perhaps you may yet defeat the Fell Dragon."

A small gasp left Naga's lips, and she slumped down into the chair behind her. Exhaustion washed over her face, and I could see the edges of the room begin to fade.

"Farewell, to all of you. I hope to see you all atop the mountain."

The world around me rippled like water. Naga's appearance shimmered and faded into nothing but a bright light that grew dimmer as my vision darkened. For a moment, or an hour, or however long this entire vision had occurred, darkness enveloped me.

Then, light flooded back into my eyes, and I saw the hallway beyond Morgan's door. Morgan remained frozen where she stood, one hand on the doorknob, the other trembling by her side. Anna, meanwhile, resembled an unreadable statue beside me.

A long silence filled the air between all of us. A silence broken when I cleared my throat, then coughed into my hand.

"So," I coughed hard again. It felt like all of the air in my lungs had been taken, the violently shoved back into my body, "what do we do now?"

"The barbarians have fallen…" Morgan's voice trembled, "The Longfort has fallen."

Just before she could sprint down the hall, Anna swept past me, grabbed Morgan by her shoulder, and spun her around.

"Morgan," Anna began, "Tell the others you found out about the ritual in a book."

Morgan furrowed her brow, perplexed, "But, but Naga-"

"Do you really think Lissa and Frederick will believe a word of that?" Anna hissed, "You found it in a book. Claim you lost the book if they ask about it, but do not waver from your stance that the ritual must happen. If you need further proof, Sam and I will back you up."

I raised my brow, "We will?"

"We will." Anna snarled.

Morgan shrugged Anna's hand from her shoulder, "Right, right. It's a plausible explanation that requires little explaining, got it." She drew in a breath, "Still, we have so little time. Moving through the mountains to get to Mount Prism will take a lot of time, especially with Grima bearing down on us from the North now." She brought a hand to her chin, thinking for a moment, "Not to mention, we need to make sure Grima does not catch wind of this plan."

"I'm sure you, Lissa, and Frederick will figure that out." Anna said, "After all, you're the Shepherd's tactician, with the answer to all of our problems."

Morgan looked at Anna, wide-eyed. Slowly, a smile crept over her face.

"I am, aren't I?" She threw her arms around Anna, taking the merchant by surprise, "Thank you, Anna. I'm going to miss you."

Anna hesitated a moment, then returned the hug, "You too, Morgan." She then ended the embrace, "Now get moving."

"Right!"

Morgan spun around and sprinted down the hall, probably rushing off to find Frederick. I doubt Lissa was in any sort of mood for an impromptu military council without a damn good reason. While the time travel ritual was a good reason, Frederick could stress the importance of it to her better than any of the other Shepherds could.

As she turned the corner at the end of the hall, I looked to Anna.

"Now what?"

Anna's mouth drew into a thin line, "Now?" Her foot tapped against the floor, "Well, you've got a new mission now, Samuel Wheeler. Time for me to see if you're in fighting shape for it."

A grin washed over my face as I followed her out of Morgan's study.

"Bet you my salary that I win this time?" I joked, shutting the door behind me.

Anna let out a haughty laugh, "I might as well collect now then."

"Well, the joke's on you. I still haven't gotten paid for this bullshit."

And that earned me quite the hard shove.

**And Chapter! Time to set up for the next, fast paced part of this story! No more filler, just straight to it this time (mostly because I've run out of filler ideas lol). I'm so excited to show you all what I've got in store for this next bit of the story. I've got some gut punches in store for all of ya, haha!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

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**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Narwhal Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts, and we talk about Fanfiction, writing advise, and general fun nonsense. You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**

**Aaaaand lastly, I'm officially on Ao3 (Archive of Our Own) now! I have the exact same username on that sight as this one. Now, what other story besides this one can you find there? Well, me, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 did a collaboration titled _Tales from the Summoner's Undercroft, _where we put all of our SI's in a bar in FEH Askr, just to see what would happen. It was very fun to work on, and I hope it's a fun read if any of you all do wander over there.**


	33. Grima's Shadow

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 31

Grima's Shadow

_Ugh… my head._

My eyes squeezed tight. It felt like horses were galloping through my skull, with each hoof beat smacking against my forehead before racing around to the back of my head. God, the pain felt bad enough that my neck and jaw were hurting too. Still, that pain didn't wake me up. At this point, I feel like I should be pretty used to my head hurting for a multitude of reasons.

No, what woke me up was a warm, wet, slimy thing running along my face. It passed over my right eye, then my nose, and I recoiled. My eyes cracked open. Bright sunlight filtered through a slat board roof over my head, and I saw the silhouette of a horse's snout near my face. The horse snorted, and its warm tongue ran over my face again.

"Wha-what?" I muttered, reaching up and pushing the horse's snout away. The horse snorted, and stamped a hoof, causing me to give the painted horse a curious look. "Oh… hi, Harold."

Harold bobbed his head, then took a few steps back from me as I propped my body up onto my elbows. A bad idea, because the sudden motion made my head swim and caused my stomach to lurch.

"Oh shi-fuck." I gasped, a rancid belch slipping from my lips.

I shifted where I lay, and the loose bits of straw that made up the stable I was lying in crunched beneath me.

_Wait… why am I- ooooooooh._

Why am I here again? Well, the simple answer: alcohol. The less simple, but still surprisingly uncomplicated answer: after Anna and I finished training, she took me and a few of the less somber Shepherds (those being Miriel, Laurent, and Henry, unfortunately for me there), to get a drink. She did say she'd buy me a pint when I got back from Doluna, and Anna always made a point to make good on her end of a deal.

However, that one pint turned into several, then it turned into a drinking game involving bets, dares, and coins that I did not have.

_Wait... the dares!_

I looked down at my waist and groaned.

_Where are my pants?_

I wiped my hands over my heads, winced as my head pounded again, then gingerly sat up. Harold snorted off to my right, head bucking, as if he was urging me to get up and get out of his stall. I didn't pay him much mind since I was more occupied with figuring out how exactly I wandered from the tavern near Anna's tent all the way into the Stables within the Palace Walls.

_Let's see, there was me teaching Anna and Henry how to play flip cup. _I snorted to myself, _Pretty unsuccessful attempt too. Can't really flip wood mugs. Although, I think they liked beer pong?_

Every muscle in my body groaned in protest as I slowly got to my feet. My joints felt stiff as boards, and my feet ached with each step I took along the stable floor. Harold snorted at me one more time as I reached his stall door. I glanced over at the horse and swore there was an annoyed look in his glossy, black eyes.

"Sorry I took your bed," I muttered, grimacing at the taste of my own breath.

_How come I remember what hot dog water might taste like even though I've never had it in my old home, nor have had it here?_

The Stablemaster didn't pay me much mind as I shuffled out of the stables, wearing nothing but my small-clothes and my beer-stained shirt from the previous night. I wasn't sure if he was choosing to ignore me, or if a Shepherd waking up in the Stables was actually so common that the old guy was used to it at this point. Regardless of the answer, I didn't ask any questions, and neither did he. Good thing too, because I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of answering any questions when I'm like this.

_God, how long has it been since I've had this kind of hangover? _I wondered as I stepped out in the palace yard and trudged towards the barracks, not caring at all that the guards, and a few servants, saw me and all my scrawny glory. _Long enough for me to forget my water rule._

Which by the way is this: if I consume way too much alcohol in one sitting, I must drink at least two or three big water bottles worth of water before going to bed. Helps fend off the headache, and re-hydrates the body. Sadly, in medieval fantasy fun-time land, water bottles don't exist, and water skins run dry eventually. I had a hard time filling those things up when sober, much less when I am as wasted as I was last night.

_Dumb caps are like pickle jar lids, I swear._

The sharp thud of my forehead bumping into the barrack's door shook me from my meandering thoughts. I stumbled back a step, a bit dazed, with my head pounding worse than before thanks to running into the door. A curse slipped from my lips as I gathered my bearings, grasped the doorknob, and shoved the door open.

"There ya are!"

I winced as a loud voice smashed against my ears, making me groan.

_If I get slapped then I get headache bingo._

Brady stormed towards me, his staff clacking against the floor as he leaned against it. An annoyed expression marred his usually grumpy face, but I didn't have the energy to be worried about it.

"Good morning, Brady," I muttered, trying to shuffle past him, only for one of his hands to reach out and stop me.

"Yeah, yeah." Brady snapped back, "For one, it's two in the afternoon," My eyes widened, "And for two, ya missed your damn healing session last night. Why, if I was Ma, I would've cracked ya upside the head already!"

"For a family of healers, you all are strangely aggressive."

"It keeps the patients in their beds, and on time for their appointments. Now c'mon."

A long groan left my lips. Why can't I just go to bed? But, there's no way I'm disobeying Brady's orders. He may be half-Donnel, but he is also half-Maribelle, and that means his temper is short and sharp, just like the tip of his Mother's parasol (which I'm certain will smack me upside the head at some point, since I managed to cause such annoyance for Brady today).

I slumped down onto the sofa across from the cold fireplace, and let my head fall into my right hand. My fingers massaged my brow as I waited for the faint buzz of healing magic to form on me. When I didn't feel anything, I frowned and glanced over to Brady, who stood in front of me, arms folded with one foot tapping against the floor.

"What?" I croaked.

"Shirt."

I blinked, "Oh, right."

It did not take me long to shed the loose shirt I wore. Once it was gone, I leaned forward in my seat, allowing Brady easy access to my wounded shoulder. Briefly, I stole a glance and grimaced as I spotted charred skin that was slowly scabbing and scarring over. A faint burning sensation lingered in it still, causing me to roll it in discomfort even as soothing magic hit it.

"Hurting still?" Brady remarked.

"Yes doc, what gave it away," I grumbled as I rubbed my eyes with my other hand.

Brady sniffed at that, "Damn, didn't take ya for a lippy drunk."

"Didn't take you for a judgmental healer."

"Did I ever claim not to be?" Brady retorted. And I was unable to form a good reply. More magic filled my shoulder as he continued speaking, "Ya forget, I grew up a noble kid. Gossip is the weapon of nobles, and I can be good at it when I want to be."

I hummed back, wincing as my head pounded, "And what does your gossip say about this wonderful day?"

"Not much. The royal family has retreated for a bit into the palace, given everything that's happened. Henry is Henry, and Noire is scared, per the usual. Some big war council is happening later today; Ma told me about that one." He pursed his lips then snapped his fingers, "Oh, figured I should inform ya, Anna left."

In an instant, I completely forgot about my headache and hangover.

"She's-" I stared at Brady in disbelief, "She's gone?"

Brady nodded as the glow in his staff disappeared, "Yup, stopped by the barracks in the wee hours this morning, then left. Now, I've got some banda-"

I didn't give him the chance to finish. If Anna stopped by the barracks, then that means she must've stopped by here. But why? Did she want to say goodbye? Or did she only want to gather a few things before leaving?

Brady hollered at me to come back to my seat, but I paid him no mind. I surged into the guy's bunk room. A pit formed in my stomach when I spotted a small note neatly folded at the foot of my bunk. My bare feet padded along the floor towards my bunk, and I was at the note before I could even register how close I became. Gently, I plucked the note from the blanket and turned it over in my hands.

My name was scrawled in loopy, elegant letters on the note. And when I say my name, I don't mean Samwise, or Sam, but Samuel. Anna has been the only one to call me by my actual name for a long time now. But she only did so in serious situations. Dread filled me as I held the note. Part of me didn't want to open it, but still, I did.

_Samuel,_

_If you're reading this, then you didn't get home last night like you said you would, and that means I was unable to wish you goodbye in person. Although, it is probably better this way. I've never been very good at goodbyes, and I get the feeling you aren't either._

_I'll keep this note brief. As of this morning, I gathered what little I have left and made my way to the coast. There, a ship is going to sail east, into unknown waters. Hopefully, we find some sort of land to settle on. A place far away from Grima. I do not regret this. It is one of the few things I'm doing that I hold no regrets over. Most of which I'm not going to detail, but there are many, and I'm sure you can guess who is involved in most of them._

_Nevertheless, if there is one other regret I don't have, it's teaching you. When Gaius brought you to my shop, I was certain that you were going to be dead by the end of the weak. Yet, you pleasantly surprised me at every turn. Eventually, I began to see you more like a friend than a pupil, and I'm glad I did._

_I do wish we had more time to be friends. But Grima will not give us that time, and I do not plan on dying to him. I am not a hero. Never have been, and I never want to be. I'll leave that nonsense to you kids, since you are foolish enough, and have enough energy, to be the heroes this world needs. So, go back in time. Defeat Grima before he can defeat us._

_And who knows, if we see each other again, in another time, I might buy you a pint._

_Yours truly,_

_Anna_

A shaky breath left my lips. I folded the letter up, and set it back down on my cot, before sinking down to a seat beside it.

Anna is gone. She is really gone. I still can't believe it. I thought that maybe there was a chance she would stick around. That knowing there was hope for us, through retreating to the past, would compel her to stay and help. But now, she's gone. Left to save her own skin, and leaving me to face the final leg of this terrifying journey alone.

I did not feel prepared for this in any way, shape, or form. How could I help defeat Grima? I already failed once before by not getting the real Sable. I'm just a small, scrawny, but still squishy sack of meat standing against a tide of monsters led by the greatest of all fell beasts. I can't do this alone!

The door to the barracks creaked open.

"Can't it wait, Brady?" I croaked.

"Unfortunately, this can't."

I snapped my head up and saw Lucina standing in the door. Bags sat under her eyes, which still looked raw from shedding far too many tears. She did not carry herself with the confidence she used to, as she stood a bit hunched in the doorway. Maybe she was tired? A likely explanation, but it's not my place to wonder about that.

"What's up?" I asked, grabbing Anna's note and placing it on the table by my cot.

Lucina's brow furrowed, "Um, the ceiling?"

"Not-" I long sigh left my lips, "Not what I meant." I cleared my throat, "What's going on?"

Lucina blinked, "O-oh, that's what you meant. Right! Well, you're coming with me to the war council we're about to have."

I glanced down at my shirtless, pant-less form, a strong blush surging over my cheeks. At that moment, Lucina must've noticed too, because her eyes widened and she quickly spun around.

"Just uh, give me a minute," I replied, my voice cracking with embarrassment.

"Of course! I apologize!" Lucina cried, shutting the door behind her with a soft click as she made a swift retreat.

I furrowed my brow, staring at the door for a moment, puzzled.

_Did she not notice before… never mind._

I shook my head, a small laugh leaving my lips. There was no time to worry about what Lucina did or did not see. Clearly I needed to get dressed and get going. So, with that in mind, I went to my trunk at the foot of my bed, opened it, and frowned.

"Brady! Do you have pants?"

* * *

So, Brady didn't have pants. Well, he did, but they were way too big for my scrawny self, so we had to raid the other trunks in the bunkhouse. Thankfully, we found some old pants in one of the trunks, but they were far from the most comfortable. For one, they were too long, meaning that whenever I climbed the stairs within the Palace, I nearly caught my foot on the hem of the pants. For two, they were very scratchy. And for three, they tended to ball up in the most uncomfortable of places. Needless to say, my already grumpy mood this morning turned even worse even before I reached the War Council Chambers.

Of course, having a hangover didn't help much either. Which is why, when I reached the door, I took a deep, calming breath.

_Stay small, stay quiet, Sam._

I made my way into the council room, hardly making a sound as I slipped inside. Unfortunately for me, as soon as the door opened, all heads turned to me. I froze as the door shut behind me, wincing to myself as Frederick's hard eyes scrutinized me. Meanwhile, Exalt Lissa sat at the head of the table, wearing black robes instead of her usual cream-colored ones. She hardly even glanced up at me. Lucina stood to her right, a nervous expression on her face. Morgan was to her left, some guilt and worry etched on her face. Finally, Miriel sat next to Lissa, her notebook open as she furiously scribbled notes as I entered.

"Uh…" My lips thinned, "Hello there?"

"You." Frederick began.

A pit formed in my gut, and I noticed Morgan quickly avert her gaze.

_Oh, I have an idea of where this is going._

A sheepish laugh left my lips, "Yeah, it's me."

"How the hell do you know about a time travel ritual from Naga?" Frederick continued, his brow furrowing.

_Oh boy…_

I pursed my lips and folded my hands in front of my body. My weight rocked to and fro, from the balls of my feet to my heels, as I stood near the door. For some reason, I struggled to come up with a good excuse struggled. I glanced over to Morgan, hoping she would provide a route out of this mess, only to see her flick her eyes down to the floor.

_The book excuse didn't work._

A deep breath entered my lungs, and I exhaled.

"Can I sit down?" I asked, gesturing at the chair near my end of the table, "These pants bunch up less when sitting."

Frederick's frown grew, "You will-"

"Sit down, Samwise." Lissa sighed, her voice quiet in the already still room. She flicked her exhausted gaze to Frederick, "And wipe that scowl from your face, he's still an ally."

"I question an ally who lies-"

Lucina cut in, "Samwise lied, but those lies did little to affect what has happened."

Frederick's gaze snapped to the Princess, and his tone grew much more respectful, "Your majesty, if he was aware of this time travel ritual this entire time, then a great deal of trouble could have been avoided if he had simply not lied."

"Not saying something is technically not lying," I muttered, taking a seat a few chairs away from Frederick, and on Miriel's side of the table.

Frederick frowned at me, "Ever heard of lying by omission? Frankly, I have half a mind to expel you from this palace personally. And to think we inducted-"

Lissa's hand slammed into the table, making Frederick's mouth snap shut. Her exhausted gaze looked positively furious as she glared sidelong at the knight.

"I'd say we have much more important things to worry about," Lissa seethed, her voice trembling, "than the lies of a young man who's been thrust into a situation he can barely comprehend." Her gaze turned to me. It lacked sympathy, but it also did not hold the fury of Frederick's, "Winding up in another world, one such as ours no less, lends itself to impulsive decisions that, no matter what is chosen, have unforeseen consequences. I do not blame Samwise for not mentioning some things. I do blame him for not trusting us."

Okay, that one hurt. Guilt shot through me as Lissa's raw, blue eyes shimmered with fresh mist. She drew in a shaky breath, and sank back in her seat, hand slipping from the table.

"Hopefully that changes now," Lissa exhaled, "What do you know about the time travel ritual, Samwise?"

I shifted in my seat, "I'm sure Morgan already told you," _She's still refusing to look me in the eye, _"but not much. I know that it has something to do with the Fire Emblem, Exalted bloodline, and Mount Prism."

Miriel arched an eyebrow, "Mount Prism? Interesting. If I recall my studies correctly, there used to be a sacred temple atop that mountain."

"Unfortunately, it's to the northeast." Morgan cut in, her voice lacking the usual confidence I had seen in previous war councils, "Grima has broken through the Longfort, and through Nixtas. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume he is also making his way through the mountains around that area."

"With our luck, he has already taken control of the mountain." Frederick grumbled, "Of course, all of this is contingent on Samwise telling the truth."

"Oh Christ alive." I groaned, letting my head fall into my heads as a long breath left my lungs, "What do I have to do to get you to lighten up?"

"Not lie would be a good start."

_Oh that does it!_

My hands slammed against the table, "And if I told you the truth from the beginning, would you have believed me!?"

Silence. Cold, uncomfortable, silence. My entire body felt like it was vibrating. Anger is not an emotion I enjoy experiencing, and it takes a lot for me to actually allow any fury to rise to the surface. But damn it, I'm tired of Frederick's constant condescending doubt despite everything I have done to help them in this war.

My jaw worked back and forth as I glanced over at the royals. To my shock, they all looked at me, stunned. I suppose my sudden outburst of anger got their attention pretty quick. Lucina's eyes were the biggest of all, but I also saw a hint of a smile on her lips. Seems like she appreciated me standing up for myself, finally.

_Damn, that felt good._

I inhaled deep, and exhaled, feeling the fury ebb away. I waited another moment for someone to respond. But when no one did, I shrugged.

"My point exactly." I twisted in my chair to face them, "And… and I doubt what I have or have not said is important right now. We need to get to Mount Prism."

"Agreed." Lucina nodded.

Lissa's brow furrowed as she tapped her fingers on the table. Her eyes closed as she exhaled through her nose, deep in thought.

"I get it now, Emm." She muttered, making Frederick's head whip to her.

"Your majesty, what are you-"

"We cannot abandon Ylisstol." Lissa said, strength returning to her eyes as she sat up taller in her seat, "There are too many people taking shelter here, and they have nowhere else to go. We certainly cannot ask them to go Northeast, towards Grima's horde."

"Does that mean we must abandon our one hope?" Lucina asked.

"That's not an option either," Lissa replied. She turned to Morgan. "How soon do our sentries along the North Road believe Grima will get here?"

Morgan furrowed her brow, "Last I heard, at least two or three days. An army that doesn't need rest moves very fast."

"That gives us a couple of days to prepare, at the most," Frederick said, a grim expression washing over his face. His throat bobbed, as he showed fear for the first time since I met him. "We're going to delay him, aren't we?"

Lissa closed her eyes, "Naga, help us, but yes." A steely resolve entered her gaze as she looked at all of us seated at the council table, "This war, right now, is lost. But," Her eyes drifted towards me, "if this last hope is real, then the war can still be won in the past. We will fight to the last, to give our last hope a chance to prevail." Her head turned to Lucina, "You will lead the Shepherds to Mount Prism."

Lucina blanched, "M-me? But-"

"My place is here, Lucina." Lissa interrupted, "With our people. Leading them in the last days. You, and the other children, are our hope, our future." Her gaze softened on her niece, "You are ready."

Lucina shook her head, "N-no I'm not, I can't-" Her gaze raced through the others in the room, roving over Frederick's resigned, yet determined expression, Miriel's fear-filled but resolute nod, Morgan's stunned and uncertain shifting, and my own wide eyes and nervous fidgeting. "Aunt Lissa, I can't lead them on my own."

Lissa gave Lucina a reassuring smile, "You already have been, Lucina. The children believe in you, Frederick believes in you, and I certainly believe in you." She rose from her seat, cupping Lucina's face in her hands, "Go to the past, save the future, and make a better world for all of us to live in."

Lucina swallowed hard. Tears misted in her eyes, but she didn't argue. She drew in a shaky breath; a meager attempt to calm herself down, before swallowing hard and nodding. Lissa smiled sweetly and wrapped her arms around her niece.

"Leave as soon as you can." The Exalt advised, "Before Grima can cut off your way."

Lucina sniffled as Lissa ended her embrace. Before she could speak, Frederick cleared his throat.

"The Princess will need an experienced guide, your majesty." Frederick pointed out, "Sir Donnel would likely be more effective helping them, than assisting us on the battlefield."

Lissa nodded in agreement, "See to it he knows what is happening, then prepare our forces for Grima's arrival." Frederick bowed and marched out of the room, not so much as giving me a glance as he left. Lissa's gaze turned to Miriel, "Mobilize all of our mages, and tell Henry that he is off his leash once the battle is joined. Morgan, burn all of your plans, and anything pertaining to this ritual and Mount Prism. You will be joining Lucina and the Shepherds, and we cannot give Grima any advantage. Both of you get going."

Morgan gave the Exalt a stiff bow, glanced at Lucina, gave her a nod, then exited. Lucina lingered a moment longer, before silently walking out of the council room. She glanced at me a moment as she left, and I could see sadness building within her with every passing moment.

I rose to follow her out, only for Lissa to clear her throat.

"Samwise, stay a moment."

I froze where I stood. The Exalt of Ylisse glided around the table to stand in front of me, her blue eyes staring into my green ones. Despite the resolve she held, I could see the intense sorrow within her. A faint mist lingered in her eyes, and she did nothing to fight it off.

"Morgan and Lucina vouched for you." She began, "I do not take such a thing lightly. You know at least something about this ritual, so I want you to go with them."

I gulped, "Okay."

"And," Lissa's jaw stiffened, "I want you to promise me something."

A pit formed in my gut. The last time I made a promise to someone, I failed to keep it. Lissa drew in a deep breath.

"No matter what happens, you will help Lucina and the kids win this war." Lissa said, "You will stay by their side and fight as hard as you can, by any means necessary, to defeat Grima, whether in the present or the past. You may be from another world, one that I might not even begin to understand, but you are a part of our world now. Fight for it."

The pit grew in my gut. That old fear I had churned through that pit, threatening to rise up within me and strangle any response I could make. But something different happened, as I stood before the Exalt. That fear didn't make me shake, or shiver, or wilt where I stood. At this point, I had no way of getting home. Home is far away now, which made this world, and the people in it, my new home. Might as well fight tooth and nail for it.

"I will."

Lissa smiled, "Good. Now, go prepare. You'll likely be leaving tonight."

She walked with me to the door but went one way down the hall while I went the other. Before I could even reach the stairs, I heard Lissa's voice again.

"Oh, and Samwise. I suggest finding some new pants." A blush rushed over my cheeks, and I didn't dare turn around and let the Exalt see it, "Those look a little tight to travel in."

_Oh, you have no idea._

* * *

I didn't have to do much to get ready for our quest. Of course, the first thing I did was find a proper pair of pants. That wasn't very hard to do, since the markets were still open in Ylisstol. I did make sure to get an extra set of pants, which I then packed into my travel pack, along with the usual survival gear, extra shirt, and the letter from Anna. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to leave that behind. Maybe her words came as a comfort to me, in this hour where I had to help the kids survive a desperate mission. Or maybe I was still so unsure of myself that knowing she thought I was ready gave me courage.

_It's coming with._

I gently placed the letter atop my bundle of clothes in my bag, tied the bag shut, then slung it over my shoulder. One last time, I glanced around the guy's bunk room in the Shepherd's barracks. For a long time, I was the only resident in this room. It had become my new home; a comforting space that made me feel safe and secure in a world I barely knew. Well… I guess I can't say I barely know this world anymore. I've lived here long enough to be pretty well adjusted.

_How long has it been anyway? _I wondered, turning away from the room and marching out the door, _Three months? Four Months? Five?_

Regardless, it's been long enough that my hair is longer than I've ever let it get, and my beard is actually managing to fill out, for once. Still haven't bothered to figure out how to fix those, but I've been pretty busy surviving the apocalypse to care. And I doubt I'll have time to worry about it in the future, at least until I get to the past.

_How is that going to go? _I wondered as I made my way down the hall and into the barracks common room, where the rest of the kids and Donnel had gathered. _What is going to happen when we get to the past?_

I knew the basics of the story well enough, but now that I was actually going to live through it, what is going to happen? I recalled that all of the kids somehow got separated once they arrived in the past, with only Lucina making it to their intended destination. If that held true, then where am I going to wind up? Once the ritual is completed, and I pass through whatever portal Naga creates, then what? So many unknowns, all of them only coming into play if I somehow survive long enough to make it.

The rest of the kids had gathered in the barracks common room. When I entered, I paused at the end of the hall. I glanced to my right and saw Gerome leaning against the wall. His black armor was polished, and his ax looked wicked sharp against his hip. He still wore that ridiculous mask, but it's not like I could tell him he couldn't. He gave me a solemn nod, the most interaction I've had with the broody Wyvern Rider.

Inigo stood to my left, arms folded as he spoke quietly with Brady. The two Shepherds glanced at me, a bit wide-eyed, before returning to their conversation. Someone must have told them about my situation. Oh well, at this point I'm just glad they weren't making a big deal out of it.

Noire and Yarne were off in the corner of the room, near the fireplace. Yarne fidgeted about, glancing nervously around the room. When his eyes landed on me, he froze, like a deer in headlights. I wasn't sure if that was a fear response or a sign that he was getting more comfortable. Noire, meanwhile, averted her dark eyes from me and kneaded her bow in both hands. The travel gear on her back looked as big, and as heavy, as she did, and I waited for her to fold in half beneath the heavy-looking bag.

_She's stronger than she looks. _I reminded myself, thinking of how much strength Henry had to use to restrain her when she got angry.

Cynthia and Owain were not their usual, boisterous, and cheerful selves. They sat quietly on a sofa together, with Owain's eyes downcast as he held a new sword across his lap. Cynthia, meanwhile, sported new armor, as well as a new lance that she had leaning against her side while she sat.

Kjelle and Nah were over by the bar, with Kjelle sipping on one last drink before hitting the road. Nah, as usual, had her nose buried within a book of some sort. Although, she did peak up briefly to give me an inquisitive glance. Her pointy ears twitched as I moved by Kjelle, and towards the last group of Shepherds in the room: Severa, Morgan, and Laurent.

Laurent was scribbling notes in his spellbook while Morgan spoke in a hushed voice to him. She must be relaying her plans for their march to him. A back-up in case something went awry in our quest. Severa, meanwhile, scowled at both of them, then glowered at me as I took a seat beside her.

"About time you got ready to go," Severa grumbled.

I shrugged back, "Decided to take one last look around, for nostalgia's sake." I pursed my lips, "That and I needed to get new pants."

The corner of Severa's mouth twitched ever so slightly, and her frown lessened, "You did look pretty ridiculous in Inigo's pants."

I raised an eyebrow, "Those were Inigo's?"

"From when he was twelve, yeah," Severa remarked, a wry smirk replacing her scowl.

My eyes widened, and looked down at my thin frame, "To be fair, they were still a bit tight."

"In all the wrong places."

"I-you-" Severa sat up a little taller as I sputtered. A huff left my lips, and I shook my head, "Nice to know you were looking."

A series of shocked sputters spouted from her, while I smirked to myself. Morgan must have overheard us because I saw her roll her eyes before gesturing at Laurent to return his attention to their planning.

While Severa stewed in her seat, I turned my attention to said tactician.

"Where's Lucina and Donnel?"

"Should be here any moment," Morgan replied.

As if on cue, the door to the barracks opened. Donnel held the door open for Lucina, as the Princess marched inside. Right away, I could tell there was a difference in her demeanor and her appearance. Her long, blue hair was tied up tight around her head, giving it a short look rather than a natural, flowing one. She wore her usual travel attire, with a blue tunic covering her torso and a brown belt cinching it at her waist. Dark blue pants and tall, armored boots covered her legs. The other difference, other than her hair, was the blue butterfly mask dangling from one hand, and the Fire Emblem strapped to her left arm. Four colorful gemstones sparkled in the mythical shield, with a lone gap in it meant for Sable remaining empty. Gone were the teary eyes and quivering chin, replaced with stern resolve and determination that instantly lifted the spirits of everyone in the room.

"Shepherds, listen up." Lucina began, her blue eyes roving over all of us, "In the next hour, we're leaving Ylisstol. The Exalt has given us a mission. A final hope for us to defeat Grima." She took a deep breath, "This hope does not involve saving our world, in our time, but a time already gone by. Morgan, with the assistance of Samwise and Anna, has discovered a ritual from Naga that can transport a small group of people back in time. Through this ritual, we will return to the past, and we will alter the course of the future." Her head nodded a little, as if she were trying to reassure herself of the possibility behind all of this, "We will defeat Grima."

Several of the Shepherds gave Lucina, Donnel, Morgan, and me uncertain glances. I shrank a little beneath them, unsure of how to handle the sudden scrutiny. Gerome, Yarne, and Noire appeared to be the most doubtful out of everyone in the room. Nah seemed indifferent. Inigo and Brady looked skeptical, but also not dour. Owain and Cynthia looked up at Lucina with hope-filled eyes and renewed strength in their slumped forms. Laurent and Morgan simply nodded along with the Princess. And Severa, well, her fist balled up tight on the bar counter. I'm not exactly sure what that meant, but I took it as a sign of determination.

Any uncertainty the others held was quelled when Kjelle burped loudly and cleared her throat.

"Hell yeah, we will!" Kjelle bellowed, slamming her empty mug down on the bar counter. She hopped out of her stool, hefted her lance in one hand, and gargantuan steel shield in the other. "I dare any Risen, or Fell Dragon to stop us!"

Owain shot to his feet and held his now unsheathed blade aloft.

"My sword hand trembles!" He declared, a renewed gusto filling his voice, "Misseltain shall fell any foe that dares to step in our path! For my father, my mother, and all we have lost, I will help avenge them, and save our world!"

"The Justice Cabal stands with you, Lucy!" Cynthia declared, stamping the butt of her spear into the floor.

Morgan chuckled off to the side, "And, Cynthia just spoke for me." A small smile crossed her lips, "But she didn't lie."

"I'm looking forward to seeing what wonders lie in store for us," Nah said, her small voice cutting through the air like a scalpel. "Maybe I'll find another grand story to read when we reach the past."

"Blood and Thunder! Grima will die by my hand!" Noire bellowed, causing me to jump in my seat due to the sheer fury emanating from her frail form.

Yarne, who sat beside her, appeared to be on the verge of passing out. A stern glare from Noire, as her necklace glowed around her neck, made him yelp, then raise his voice.

"I-I'll f-follow you, Lucina." He whimpered, his long ears drooping a little as he spoke.

Brady simply nodded to Lucina, while Inigo flashed her a dashing smile followed by a wink. I drew in a deep breath and nodded to Lucina as well.

Lucina's pale lips broadened into a smile, "I could not ask for greater companions to go on this mission than all of you."

"Anything else we need to know before we finish getting ready?" Morgan asked.

Lucina blinked, "Oh, right!" She covered her mouth as she cleared her throat, "When we get to the past, we must do everything in our power to not alter the course of events too much. Our primary goal is to defeat Grima before he can rise to power. This means we cannot speak, or interact, with our parents."

"Any slight change, any deviation in a variable, could cause disastrous and unforeseen consequences," Morgan followed up as she helped Lucina address us. "If at all possible, we need to avoid speaking to our parents in the past. The last thing any of us need is to end up as Inigo's sibling."

A few chuckles rang out, while Brady gave an aghast Inigo a good slap on the back. I found myself laughing under my breath as well. Meanwhile, Severa's fists balled up even tighter in front of her.

"Don't talk to the parents, gotcha." Brady nodded over to Lucina and Morgan.

"Good." Lucina replied, "Now then, finish your preparations. We have a long and dangerous journey ahead of us."

Severa abruptly rose from the stool beside me. She drew in a deep breath, and marched right up to Lucina, staring at the Princess right in the eye. The redhead slowly shook her head, grit her teeth, then exhaled.

"No parents?"

Lucina nodded.

"Good," Severa said, her voice stiff. "I'll be waiting for everyone else outside."

The door opened, then slammed closed behind her. Lucina sighed, and shook her head, muttering something under her breath. She gave the door a quick peek, then turned her attention to Donnel.

"How many provisions do we have?" I heard her ask, her voice quiet as the other Shepherds moved to the door so they could say goodbye to parents and friends one last time.

"As many as ya'll can carry on your backs, Cynthia's pegasus, and Minerva," Donnel replied. "And if nothing else, we eat Happy."

"Happy's coming with!" Cynthia cried, as she overhead Donnel. A horrified look then washed over her face. "You touch Happy, and we'll be eating you instead!"

"Go outside, Cynthia." Lucina deadpanned, "No one is eating Happy."

Another quiet laugh left my lips. The dog was coming with, of course. That dog has already survived the apocalypse, so why not see if it can survive time travel too. Besides, the kids were very fond of the mutt. He'll be a good morale boost while we were on the road.

The last Shepherds filtered out, leaving me, Donnel, Morgan, and Lucina in the barracks common room. Lucina drew in a deep breath, exhaled shakily, and glanced at me and Morgan.

"You're sure this will work?"

I glanced at Morgan, wondering if she will mention Naga is still trying to figure out the ritual. But without missing a beat, Morgan nodded.

"It will."

"Good." Lucina said, "I trust you two to work out the details, along with Laurent, while we're on the road." She glanced at me, "Anything else you can recall, Samwise?"

I grimaced, "Not really."

Not a lie, but not exactly the truth either. I could not take the paralogue chapters from the game into account, since much of them appeared to be beyond the scope of Awakening's story. Hell, they were probably just thrown in there in order to add more levels to the game, and to give the player a challenge when recruiting the future kids. For all I knew, in reality, the kids all made it to the same spot together.

_No reason to make them worry more than they already need to. _I thought.

"If that changes, don't hesitate to speak up." Lucina ordered, "In the meantime, Sir Donnel, we need to do a quick inventory and-"

The door to the barracks slammed open.

"Uh, Lucy." Cynthia gulped, her voice shaking, "I don't think we have an hour."

My stomach dropped, Morgan paled, and Lucina and Donnel both barreled out the door. Morgan shot a worried look towards me, then rushed out after them. I followed, my steps a bit shaky as I stepped outside into the evening darkness.

The stars that sat overhead earlier were gone. Clouds did not obscure them. Instead, a shadow of some sort blotted out the light. Not even the moon could penetrate the inky blackness that crept over the world. I managed to step outside as the last star was swallowed whole, its meager little light snuffed out in the blink of an eye.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucina and Donnel barrel up the steps leading up to the Palace Walls. Against my better judgment, I followed them. The other Shepherds marched right behind me.

When I got to the top of the wall, I turned my gaze north. There, in the distance, we could see a faint orange glow. It held no warmth, only dread, and terror. The fire from a great host bearing down on the Exalted City, and it was drawing closer by the second. In the darkness, I swore I could see great feathered wings expand over the horizon. The earth rumbled beneath our feet, and a dull roar sounded out through the air. It was still a ways away, but it was enough to make me shake in my boots.

_I know that roar well._

"He's near." Morgan breathed as she stood between me, and Severa, who stared to the North with a look of anger and fear.

Lucina's throat bobbed, "The time has come." She turned around and faced all of us, "Shepherds! Let's move!"

* * *

**Anna**

Whenever I travel, I like to hum a little tune. Usually, it's a simple, tavern song. A good, bouncy jig to keep me entertaining, and keep my spirits up, as I rumble along the road in solitude. Often they were songs I was already familiar with and knew well. But for some reason, this time, as night fell over the land southeast of Ylisstol, I found myself humming a more unfamiliar tune.

Then, I found my humming rising to quiet singing.

"_Well my daddy left home when I was three._" I said, my sing-song tone a mere whisper on a cold wind, "_And he didn't leave much for Ma, and me. Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze."_

A quiet laugh slipped out of the corner of my mouth. I lounged back in my chair. This was the song Samuel first sang to me and the Justice Cabal. Back when all of us embarked on a rescue mission that would see us save Lucina from Risen captivity in Port Ferox. Strange how my mind went to that song, of all things.

"_Now I don't blame him, cause he run and hid. But the meanest thing that he ever did, was before he left, he went and named me 'Sue'"._

Another laugh came from my lungs. The reins sat loose in my hands as I chuckled. Behind me, in my empty cart, I heard Cluckers clucking away. I let the last verse linger in the air a moment too long, and I found my mind pondering the song further.

Such a simple tune. A fun one to hum, an even funner one to sing, but a hollow one to sing alone. When Sam sang it for our little camp, a couple months ago now, he managed to get Owain, Morgan, and Cynthia singing along. Severa was the only holdout, but even now, that didn't surprise me. She was always too grouchy for her own good. Poor girl needed to smile more.

_Then again, she hasn't had much to smile about._

I hummed the next few lyrics as my cart rumbled along the dirt trail through the forest to Ylisstol's south. As I got midway through the song, I found that even humming the lyrics alone felt strange. No, not strange, lonesome. That was a better term for it.

Irritation welled up in me, and I sat upright in my chair, no longer relaxed. Why the hell was I having a problem right now? Traveling alone never bothered me before. I mean, sure, has it been a few years since I've actually gone down the open road alone, yes. The last time was… was…

_Before I joined the Shepherds, all those years ago._

My shoulders sagged, and a heavy breath left my lips. My eyes closed, and I pursed my lips as that troubling though bounced through my mind. For the past twenty years, I've been traveling with at least one member of the Shepherds. During wartime, I rode right alongside them, selling my wares, and swindling local merchants where we went. During peacetime, there was always either a reason to stay in Ylisstol, or a reason to share the journey with a friend. For a while there, Tiki was my lone companion as we ventured through Valm together and… and…

My heart ached. Her cold, lifeless face was stamped in my mind, forever. Would she still be alive if I had gone with Sam and her on their mission to Doluna?

_If I hadn't been a coward, would she still be alive?_

A tear dribbled down my left cheek. I let it burn a trail over my skin, for a moment, then reached up with my hand and wiped it away.

"Eyes on the road, Anna. Eyes on the road."

A nervous cluck came from Cluckers, and I rolled my eyes.

"There aren't many Risen this way, girl. Don't get your feathers ruff-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the forest around me went silent. The cold breeze grew frigid, and all I could hear in the inky darkness was the sound of my cart's wheels churning through hard dirt. I didn't expect birds to be chirping in the dead of night, but I did expect bugs to still creep and crawl through the shadows. Crickets didn't even make their usual music, and that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

The cause of such a disturbance reached my ears next. A dull, but powerful roar emanated behind me, far to the north. I gently tugged on the reins, and Emm slowed to a stop on the road. My brow furrowed as I strained my hearing.

Another dull roar and my blood ran cold.

_He's near._

Without thinking, I twisted in my seat and looked back up the road to Ylisstol. Naga, the Fell Dragon and his armies moved fast. If that roar was any indication, he'd be upon Ylisstol in a few hours, maybe even sooner, if Grima had a vanguard leading the way.

_Which he probably does._

I bit my lip. Dangerous thoughts entered my mind. Did Lissa and Frederick agree to follow Morgan and Sam's time travel scheme? If they did, then do the kids have enough time to get the hell out of Ylisstol, before it is too late? And if they get out of Ylisstol, are they going to be able to reach Mount Prism before Grima falls upon them as well? Ylisstol may hold out against the Fell Dragon for a short time, but after what I've seen from that monster at both Themis and Arena Ferox, Ylisstol stood little chance.

Do the kids have a guide? Does Sam know what to do if they are ambushed? Will they be able to reach Mount Prism at all?

My eyes turned back down the road. Keep going, and a ship waited for me. A ship that will carry me far away from this place. Hopefully to land free of the Fell Dragon and his evil.

But how long will it remain that way? How long will Grima be content with Valm and Archanea as his personal playground? How long before he too turns his eyes east, into unknown waters. Unlike us fragile humans, Grima doesn't need food or rest. He can fly over the waters forever, searching for more prey. The beast has an insatiable hunger for destruction, and he will not rest until the world burns.

Those kids, and that dumbass thief I helped train, were our last hope. I could run, and I could hide, but only for a short amount of time. What would temporary shelter amount to? Nothing, not if the Fell Dragon wins, and stops them from reaching Mount Prism.

Cluckers clucked, and my jaw clenched tight.

"I'm about to do something I'll regret, aren't I?"

I got a cluck in reply. A heavy sigh left my lips. Behind me, I could see a faint orange glow emanating in the distance, as well as inky shadows stretching out over the sky, blotting out the stars. Grima's shadow loomed over Ylisstol.

"Yup, I am." I snapped the reins and guided Emm into a slow turn back towards Ylisstol. "I'm about to do something heroic. Gods, how can I be this stupid?"

Cluckers replied with a series of clucks. My cart bounced over a wayward stone in the road, but we kept up rumbling. I snapped the reins, urging Emm into a quicker pace as a third dull roar echoed around me. Cluckers clucked one more time, and I let out a weary chuckle.

"Yeah, I don't like boats much anyways."

**And chapter! Here we go folks! The rush to Mount Prism has begun, and our heroes have precious little time to get ahead of Grima. Ah! I'm so excited to show you all this. I've been hard at work on this part of the story, and it's been so much fun to write so far. We'll see what happens together!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!  
**

**Also, come join the Treehouse on Discord! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**And, come check out the_ Fanfiction Treehouse_ podcast! Myself, Narwhal Lord, Stormtide Leviathan, and RedXEagl3 are the hosts! We talk about writing, fanfiction, fire emblem, and other general nonsense. You can find the podcast on Spotify, and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	34. The Fell Hammer Falls

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 32

The Fell Hammer Falls

They came like a tidal wave, swift and strong. An unstoppable force that crashed against the walls and caused war horns to blare throughout Ylisstol. Joining the mournful cry of war horns and bells, were the alarmed, terrified screams of the poor souls within the city. A cacophonous noise that caused me to wince, and clench my jaw tight, as I stood with the Shepherds in the Palace Courtyard.

The sounds of combat rang through the air, coming from the northern walls of the city. The Fell Dragon sent a vanguard, and the battle had been joined already. My eyes flicked to the Palace doors; where I saw Lissa, Frederick, Miriel, Henry, and Maribelle rush out, stunned by the sudden appearance of the Risen Horde.

"Frederick, we need to get our forces to the walls!" Lissa ordered as her staff stamped against the earth beneath her feet, "Henry, Miriel, marshal the mages in the Academy. Reinforce the soldiers. We must hold out for as long as we can!"

"Shepherds!" Lucina bellowed, snapping my eyes back to her, "We must get to the East Gate, fast!"

Before we could all move towards that gate, several bright golden lights erupted within the courtyard. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I felt a sharp chill rush through the air around me. I drew my kukri, as a familiar, mournful moan slipped into my ears from the golden lights.

"Risen in the courtyard!" Frederick cried, his sword flashing in his hands as he moved to protect the Exalt. Guards from beyond the Palace Walls rushed in, and I moved closer to Donnel and Severa, who had their blades drawn as well.

A tight group of golden lights erupted near the East Gate, out of the palace. When the light evaporated, my stomach dropped and a tight knot formed in my throat.

I recognized the coal-like complexion of Aversa, Grima's Witch, immediately. As soon as she appeared, a blast of dark magic rocketed across the courtyard and enveloped a group of guards rushing to aid Frederick and the Exalt. The Witch cackled with glee as she charged another spell, only for her cackling to be cut short as Henry launched a powerful fire spell in return, matching her cackles with his own mad laughter. Miriel rushed to his side, a green whip of wind surging from her fingertips and into the Witch. Aversa screeched as she flew back into a waiting throng of Risen that were pouring from golden lights behind her.

As the Witch fell backward from the combined strike, a black pegasus emerged from the last golden light. The chill in the air snapped against my skin, and my eyes widened as the Risen grunts congregated around a Pegasus Knight wearing pristine black armor. A wicked, jagged lance rested in the crook of its arm. A tattered, scarlet cape fluttered over its shoulders, matching the blood-red color of its saddle, and a winged helmet rested over its head, hiding its features behind a mask of metal and shadows. Ruby eyes that glowed with crimson menace glowered at us from behind that helmet. Its steed, unlike other Risen beasts, showed no signs of rot or corruption except for the scarlet eyes that matched its rider's. The black pegasus stamped a hoof, then spread its angelic wings.

"Deadlord!" I heard Donnel scream.

Lucina drew Falchion, moving to the front of our group in order to face this new Deadlord. The mounted Deadlord eased its way into the courtyard, looking around with malice and curiosity. Its glowing eyes landed on both Morgan and Severa as they moved to flank Severa, and it drew back a little in its saddle, hesitating in its approach.

"Lucina!" Lissa cried, "Run! We'll take care of these fell creatures!"

"Go, kids!" Sully snarled, rushing in front of Lucina, along with Frederick and Henry.

Henry said nothing, instead he conjured a dark spell unlike any I had ever seen. A mammoth ball of glowing, purple fire erupted from his free hand, rushing towards the Deadlord and the Risen that swarmed around it like drones around a queen. And like drones, a clump of Risen threw themselves in front of the magical fire. Shrieks filled the air as the purple flames consumed them. As soon as that fire died, the silent Deadlord pointed its jagged lance directly at Lucina, Severa, and Morgan.

Shrieks and snarls erupted from the Risen that remained, and they sprinted towards the trio. Frederick and Sully roared, rushing to meet them. Their blades slashed through the first line of Risen before they were bogged down by the second line. The third line slipped by the two knights, making Henry giggle. A black ooze stretched forth from his feet, moving along the ground like an inky shadow and swallowing that line of Risen whole.

"Lucina, go!" Frederick roared, as he slashed through the last Risen in front of him, then turned his attention to the Deadlord.

Those were the last words the Knight-Commander spoke. In a flash, the Deadlord shot towards him, and its lance burrowed through his heart. Lucina screamed, and that's when Donnel and I finally acted.

Donnel spun the Princess around, and I grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her with all my strength away from the eastern gate. Lucina resisted a moment, but Donnel shoving her forward, as well as Lissa barking for the kids to run, spurred her onward.

We raced through the courtyard, around the palace towards the gardens. As we neared the gardens, I glanced over my shoulder, taking a quick headcount. When I saw all of our company behind me, Lucina, and Donnel, I nodded and turned my attention to Morgan.

"Any other ways out?" I called to her, as the shrieks of Risen grew around the city.

Lucina answered for Morgan.

"Follow me. There's a way only the royal family knows about."

I raced after her, our path running along the palace walls until we reached a section with overgrown hedges and vines running up the white stone. Lucina skidded to a stop beside the thickest patch of weeds and vines. As she slid to a stop, she swiped Falchion across the overgrowth. The blade slashed through the leaves, branches, and vines with ease, and a huge swath of the plants fell away, revealing a slender crack in the walls.

My eyes widened, "How the hell-"

"No time to explain, go!" Lucina cried, shoving me through the wall first and out into the open Ylissean countryside.

Right into the waiting eyes of a group of Risen circling the walls. I yelped, drew my long dagger and kukri, and slashed through the first Risen's neck. The Risen gurgled, snarled, then reared back with an ax. Before it could slash into me, I swept around it, spun, and buried my long dagger through the back of its skull.

As that Risen crumbled to dust, Severa roared through the hole in the walls. Her blade flashed through the dark knight, felling two Risen that moved to attack me after I took down the first Risen. She was quickly followed by the rest of the kids, who charged into the group of Risen like demons from the gates of hell. Blades clanged, a bowstring sang, and spells rocketed into the last few Risen from the palms of Morgan and Laurent.

When the last grunt crumpled to ash, Lucina flicked Risen blood from Falchion's tip and turned to the rest of us.

"Northeast, fast!"

I took off after her, dashing after the Princess as we raced away from the Palace walls, and the city of Ylisstol. As we ran, more shrieks and snarls rang out from the hills and woods surrounding the Exalted City. I briefly glanced over my shoulder, past the Shepherds behind me, and saw a flurry of red-eyed Risen charging after us. None of the kids dared to turn around and face them, even as the enemy's numbers grew behind us.

We neared a series of heavily forested hills not far from the city walls. As we drew closer, the earth shook. A mighty roar cracked the black heavens, making me stumble. Lucina sprinted to the edge of the woods before spinning around to check on the rest of us.

As I regathered my bearings, Severa dashed by me, followed closely by Yarne, Inigo, and Owain. A firm hand hooked my left arm, steadied me, then shoved me roughly forward.

"Don't slow down!" Donnel barked in my ear.

Shrieks rang out louder and louder. The air snapped with intense cold, and a terrible feeling crawled up my spine. When I reached the edge of the forest, where Lucina stood with Falchion drawn, I glanced back. My blood turned cold as I spotted a black pegasus take flight from the Palace Courtyard, rush around one of the great white towers, then rocket towards us like a midnight bullet.

"Noire!" Donnel bellowed.

A bowstring sang as soon as he spoke. One black, feathered arrow soared through the night sky, only to miss its target as the Deadlord dipped beneath it with stunning agility and grace. Before it could level out, a branch of yellow lightning shot from the edge of the forest, lancing through the pegasus's left wing and sending the Deadlord into an out of control spiral, directly towards us.

"Watch out!" Morgan exclaimed, her fingertips still smoking from the lightning she conjured.

My eyes widened, and I dove out of the way. The Deadlord and it's pegasus crashed into the earth, right where I had been standing. As the undead Pegasus crumbled to ash, the Deadlord rose from the ground, it's armor scuffed and dented from the impact. Its jagged lance twirled in its hands as it spun towards Lucina and rushed her.

Lucina bent her knees, narrowed her eyes, and braced herself for the Deadlord's attack. But, the attack didn't come.

The Deadlord skidded to a stop, and swung her lance in a wide arc, taking Lucina off guard. The Princess jerked her head back as the jagged lance sang a wicked song through the cold air, narrowly missing her throat. She stumbled back, just falling out a reach from a follow-up thrust. And that is when the other Shepherds intervened.

Donnel roared, smacking his blade against the shaft of the Deadlord's lance. The Deadlord spun, cracking its armored forearm against the side of his head and sending him flying into Inigo and Gerome. As those three fell into a heap on the ground, Noire loosed another arrow. An arrow the Deadlord swatted to the side with its free hand.

"Misseltain shall fell this foul foe!" Owain declared, rushing past my petrified form. His blade pointed at the Deadlord's heart.

Owain slashed at the Deadlord's left flank, but missed as the Deadlord twisted out of the way. It swung its lance hard and smacked the shaft against Owain's right shoulder. A harsh crack rang out. Owain screamed, then fell to the ground holding a limp right arm.

Severa and Kjelle charged next, and this time, the Deadlord's movements seemed more calculated. It took a step back, allowing Severa and Kjelle to come to it. Kjelle roared as she jabbed her spear forward. Severa swept low with a wicked slash from her sword, causing the Deadlord to hop back.

I swore I heard a faint snarl come from the Deadlord before it swung its lance at Kjelle. The tip of its lance glanced off of Kjelle's enormous shield, but the force behind the blow caused Kjelle to stumble to the side. Severa moved to follow up, swinging a savage cut up at the Deadlord.

This time, the Deadlord did not move fast enough. It let out a growl as the tip of Severa's blade slashed through its breastplate before barely missing its helmet. Severa snarled and drew back with her sword in order to slash at the monster's neck.

That was when a new horde or Risen rose from the earth. A group of twenty, gangly Risen wearing sackcloth masks over their heads shambled through a black ooze that covered their shins and feet.

Brady uttered a cry, and I whipped my eyes behind me. More of the strange Risen emerged from the forest, cutting off our route to the mountains in the northeast. The other Shepherds gathered into a tight ring as the Risen moved to surround us. Severa carefully backed up, along with Kjelle, into the ring. I, however, froze.

Now, you see, freezing is a terrible thing to do in combat. Freezing makes you an easy target. Freezing makes you incapable of defending yourself. And, like angry lions sensing vulnerable prey, the Risen noticed.

One of the gangly Risen sank into the sludge at their feet. That same sludge raced towards me. I blinked as the sludge slid to a stop right in front of me, and the tall Risen emerged from the ooze. It raised it's clawed hands high over its head, black talons glinting in the light of the fires emerging within Ylisstol.

My heart hammered in my chest. For some reason, my movements felt slow. I knew I had to react, knew I had to raise my weapons to defend myself, but my arms felt weighed down. It was like I was living in a nightmare, unable to react the same as I would normally. In my mind, flashes of Port Ferox, Arena Ferox, and Doluna raced through my thoughts, and my body started to shake.

The Risen's claws hissed through the air, and I stared at them wide-eyed.

"Sam!"

A horse whinnied, then stormed over the Risen right before its claws could tear me to shreds. It let out a groan, then faded to dust beneath the wheels of a heavy cart. I gawked down at the black ooze that slowly sank back down into the dirt, then raised my gaze and watched the cart rush around the ring of Shepherds, running over Risen. In the driver's seat, I saw someone that made my heart soar, and the dead weight I felt in my body receded.

Anna yanked on the reins of her cart, turning it sharply towards the Deadlord. As her horse, Emm, barreled towards the Deadlord, Anna drew a small knife and threw it. The Deadlord uttered a quiet growl and swatted the knife away, failing to notice the second one Anna threw right after it. The second one burrowed its way into the eye-slit of the Deadlord's helmet causing a sharp hiss to come from the Monster.

The Deadlord staggered back a step, then fell backward as a third throwing knife slammed into its chin.

Anna turned her cart towards me, and I felt a grin spread over my face. I spotted her outstretched hand, grasped it as the cart raced past me, and allowed her to yank me off my feet up onto the side of the cart. My free hand tightened around one of the ribs that held the canvass roof up, and I secured myself to the side. As I stabilized myself, the Deadlord rose to its feet, eyes glaring at Anna as the cart circled it.

"It's not dead yet."

"It's about to be. Get up here!" Anna barked.

I shifted up to the open seat next to her, and she handed me the reins. As I sat down, Anna rose from her seat, drawing two daggers.

"Get to the kids."

Before I could protest, she jumped from the cart and landed on the Deadlord's shoulders as it finished rising to its feet. The Deadlord uttered an alarmed snarl, and flailed about, trying to grasp Anna and fling her from atop itself. Before it could get a grip on Anna, the Merchant's daggers flashed and burrowed into the gap, near the neck, in the Deadlord's armor.

The Deadlord let out an ear-piercing screech, like shards of metal scraping against one another. Anna twisted her daggers, and the Deadlord crumpled to its knees. A long exhale left its helmeted head, and Anna hopped off, expecting the Deadlord to fade to ash on the wind.

When the Deadlord didn't, and instead rose to strike Anna with its fist, I let out a cry, grabbed my short dagger, and flung it with all my might at the Deadlord. The blade hit true, striking the Deadlord in its breastplate and making it stumble. Anna twirled around, kicking the Deadlord onto it's back, then using her daggers to pin it to the ground.

More shrieks rang out, and more Risen rose from puddles of black sludge roving along the ground. Anna whipped her gaze back and forth, then sprinted for the cart. At that point, I had already reached the forest edge, where the rest of the Shepherds waited, fending off stray Risen that managed to survive Anna's initial assault.

"Everyone get on!" I hollered, slowing the cart down just enough so that the kids could clamber up inside.

The kids continued fighting even as they hopped one by one into the cart. Morgan, Donnel, and Lucina were the last ones to scramble into the cart. Donnel ushered Noire in first, even as the usually timid girl screamed and fired arrow after arrow into the growing mass of Risen behind us. He then yanked the terrified Happy off of his four paws and tossed him in after Noire. Thankfully, Brady reached out and snagged the dog by the scruff, helping the panting animal inside.

Morgan hopped in next, her fingers smoking from the amount of magic she was conjuring. More lightning arced from her free hand once she was in the cart, spearing a pair of Risen that were chasing after Anna. Laurent joined her, casting whips made of wind that lashed through the Risen ranks.

A loud snarl rang out. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the Deadlord tear one of its arms free from one of Anna's daggers. Any living person would have been crippled by literally tearing their arm through a hunk of sharpened metal, but the Deadlord shrugged off the wound. It yanked the other dagger free from its other arm, sat upright, and turned; red eyes boring right into my green eyes.

Fear sank in my gut as Donnel and Lucina got into the cart. Anna was a few yards away still, and the cart continued rolling as Emm whinnied, afraid.

"Go!" Anna cried.

My eyes widened. Her voice rang in my ears, but it did not register. Instead, Anna's form was replaced by Gaius's, and the fear in my gut twisted into a tight knot. A knot that normally left me petrified. But not this time. Not when the life of the closest friend I had in this world was at stake.

Without even saying anything, I jammed the reins into the nearest Shepherd's lap, Cynthia, and gripped the wooden ribs holding the canvass roof up. I crept around the side of the cart, my grip tightening as the cart rumbled forward faster. A small yelp left my lips as the cart jostled along a path riddled with clods of dirt and dry pine needles.

"Cynthia, turn us around!" I called.

"But Anna said-"

"But nothing!" I snapped, "Turn us around!"

_It will not happen again. _I thought as Gaius's death raced through my mind.

The cart tilted on its wheels as Cynthia executed a swift, sharp turn. Anna didn't notice, as she was too busy fending off whatever Risen managed to catch up to her. I grit my teeth, one of my hands let go of the rib I clutched, allowing me to lean out from the cart just a bit further.

That small distance I gained was all I needed. Cynthia raced past Anna, and my hand snagged Anna by the back of her shirt. Anna uttered an alarmed cry as my hand, coupled with the cart's speed, yanked her off of her feet.

With all of the strength I had in my scrawny body, I slammed her against the canvass roof. Anna crashed through it, a gaping hole and the sound of Gerome and Brady cursing telling me that I managed to fling her into the cart.

A relieved sigh left my lips as I heard Anna's voice furiously cursing with those two Shepherds. I had a feeling most of those curses were directed at me, but I didn't care. Anna was alive, and we made it out of Ylisstol.

Cynthia turned the cart and we raced for the distant mountains to our Northeast. As we sped away, I glanced behind us one more time and saw the Deadlord giving up its pursuit. It stared at us through the trees as it lingered along the edge of the forest, crimson eyes glowing bright. Those ruby glows eventually faded into small pinpricks of red light as we escaped.

I sagged against the side of the cart, both hands grasping the ribs of the roof. My cheek pressed against the taut fabric, and I closed my eyes, more relief flooding me as the cart rumbled along. Somehow, we made it. And if not for the merchant that wanted to run away, we probably would not have survived.

Before I returned to the seat beside Cynthia, I glanced back to Ylisstol one more time. Through the shadows of the forest, I could see flames rising higher within the Exalted City. Shrieks echoed through the night, their evil chorus fading as we drove further away from the last refuge of humanity. Joining the shrieks of Risen, the terrified screams of doomed people, and the clashing of metal, was an enormous roar that shook the earth.

The main Risen army had arrived, and we just managed to evade it. However, Ylisstol will not stand for long. Not against the Fell Dragon and all his fury. My throat tightened. I bowed my head and muttered a quiet thank you to Exalt Lissa, Lady Maribelle, Frederick, Henry, Miriel, Sully, and the other Shepherds who bought us the time we needed to flee.

Now, it was up to us. We could not let their deaths be in vain. I raised my head, opened my eyes, and turned my gaze northeast. A deep breath ran in and out of my lungs.

_On to Mount Prism._

* * *

It took us a day and a half to reach Breakneck Pass, our route through the enormous granite peaks that dotted Northeast Ylisse. When we reached the pass, the forest thinned out into a gravel road. One side of the road was lined by a deep canyon, whose bottom I could not see due to the darkness and shadows around us. The other side of the pass had great stone walls that ascended high up into the sky, topped by snow-capped peaks that pierced the forever black sky.

It was hard to keep track of how long we traveled. Grima's shadow had swept over the entire land as he assaulted Ylisse. With his vicious attack, the sun faded away, swallowed whole by dense black clouds that blanketed the world in shadow. Our only light guiding our way were a pair of torches, one in the front of our caravan carried by Lucina, the other carried by Donnel at the rear. However, as we rounded a bend in the pass, a dull red glow washed over the rocky cliffs. When I spotted the source of that glow, my heart sank.

Ylisstol burned. Great flames rose high into the sky; so high we could see them all the way from here. For some reason, seeing Ylisstol, a place I only called home for a few months, in flames, overwhelmed by Risen, left me stunned and somber. I remembered the first impression Ylisstol left on me when I saw the city for the first time, after rehabbing enough to walk around the Palace walls. It was a shimmering city of hope. A final bastion against darkness and Grima's evil slaughter. Now, the last walls were scorched. The final warriors were dead, and all that was left of Ylisstol and her hopes was this small band of Shepherds I was inexplicably a part of.

_It's quite sobering to think about._

"C'mon everyone," Donnel grunted, gesturing for all of us to turn away from the terrible sight and continue up the cold mountain pass. "Let's get around the bend. Then we can rest."

"Should we rest?" Lucina piped up, her eyes misting as she looked back on her burning home. "If Grima annihilated our home so soon, then he will be right behind us."

"What kind of question is that?" I heard Anna sigh from her perch in the cart's driver's seat. "I don't care how strong you think you are, Princess; it's another three days of hard marching at least to Mount Prism. Even with how strong you are, I doubt you'd be able to keep up this pace for that long." Emm snorted in front of Anna, making Anna nod, "Besides, Emm needs rest too. She can only haul you kids for so long."

Lucina's eyes fell as she mulled over Anna's words. The Merchant didn't even wait for Lucina to reply to her, and instead spurred Emm forward so that she could get the cart, and the kids riding in the back of it, around the bend in the pass. Donnel, Severa, Morgan, Inigo, Gerome, and Yarne marched after her in silence, leaving me and Lucina to take up the rear.

I started to follow the others when I saw Lucina hesitate. Her throat bobbed and a couple of tears dripped down her face as she stared at the red and orange glow coming from Ylisstol.

"Your majesty?" I muttered, making her head bow.

"Majesty of what?" Lucina whispered, her voice barely audible over the moaning wind sweeping through the pass. She drew in a deep breath, turned away from the city, and raised her gaze to me, "Samwise, do you think it was at least quick?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Quick?"

"Their deaths… my aunt, Lady Maribelle, all of them." She glanced over her shoulder one more time, "Did Grima make them suffer?"

My lips thinned as I thought hard about what to say, but I came up with nothing. All I could do was utter a heavy sigh, and offer her a shrug.

"I don't know."

A shaky breath escaped Lucina's lips and she nodded, "Right. I think I'd prefer to be that way too."

She strode ahead of me, and I brought up the rear of our small convoy. Within a few minutes, we were around the bend of the pass, and away from the horrible glow that came from Ylisstol's destruction. Once we found a wide spot on the gravel road, Anna urged Emm to a halt, then she hopped down from the cart. I slowly made my way up to her as she stepped around the cart and knocked on the back of it.

"Alright, everyone who rode up this mountain, it's your turn to march." She announced, "Once we're done getting some rest, that is."

I heard some grumbles come from the Shepherds in the cart, but they all filtered out nonetheless. Noire and Laurent were both wide awake as they stepped out of the cart, their faces filled with fear and worry. Although, Laurent did a better job of hiding it as he kept his nose buried in his tome. I did see some tear stains beneath his spectacles, but I did not ask him about them. I knew exactly why they were there, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause him more pain by re-opening a still raw wound.

Kjelle stepped out next, with Nah on her back as the little Manakete slumbered. Kjelle did a good job putting on a brave face, but she lacked her usual confidence in her stride.

Brady and Owain were as silent as a graveyard as they helped Donnel offload some cold food for everyone to eat. I did hear a harsh sniffle or two come from the two guys, but I didn't bother them about it.

"No fire." Anna announced, eliciting a couple of groans, which she rolled her eyes at, "Everywhere is enemy territory now, kids. So get used to cold food, and colder sleep."

"You didn't save any blankets from your shop?" Brady grumbled.

Anna's eye twitched, "I didn't plan on coming back for you kids, so I made sure to sell all the usual camping stuff."

Before Brady could offer a snarky reply, Lucina spoke up.

"And we are grateful you came, Anna. Without you, we may not have escaped that Deadlord."

That declaration made Anna snort, "Don't sell yourselves short. Would it have been harder? Yeah/ But I know what you kids can do when push comes to shove, and if the Deadlord pushed you to that breaking point, I would've felt sorry for it." She drew in a breath and nodded for Lucina to get into the cart, "Now get some rest. Same for the rest of you walkers."

Lucina, Severa, Morgan, Inigo, Gerome, and Yarne clambered into the cart; all of them huddling together to keep warm, I briefly heard Severa and Inigo bicker over who would get to sit next to Yarne, since he had the warm fur, only to hear them let out a cry as Gerome stole the spot from them. Me, Donnel, and Anna shared a quiet chuckle at their antics.

"Well," Donnel breathed, sorrow evident in his eyes, "I needed a small laugh and some sleep. Trust ya two got things from here?"

"This sort of thing is in the job description Donnel, don't worry." Anna replied, "Go sleep."

Donnel nodded and entered the cart. As all of the kids and Donnel moved to get comfortable, Anna and I moved to the front of the cart. I winced as I stepped up into my usual seat, my muscles stiff and sore from the desperate escape and long march up the mountain. My eyes felt heavy as I sat there.

_I'm gonna pass out soon._

The cart jostled as Anna climbed up to her spot. She exhaled and sagged in her seat, allowing some weakness to show now that she was out of sight of the kids.

"Naga above, how did we make it?"

"Dumb luck?" I remarked, causing Anna to utter a dry, quiet laugh.

"You must be the dumbest good luck charm then." She kicked her feet up on the railing in front us, "Seems so long as you're around, we get out of those close scrapes."

The Deadlord flashed in my mind after she finished speaking. As did the Risen minions that she seemingly summoned to its side. A shiver crawled up my spine as I recalled how close I was to being shredded by that Risen's claws before Anna showed up.

"My dumb luck ran out when we left those walls. If you hadn't shown up when you did-"

"Yeah, you fucking froze." Anna grunted, making me wince, "But… given that was a new Deadlord, and a tough one too, I don't blame you."

"New one?"

Anna nodded, "Only ever seen Vykrik before. The big one with that massive sword." I nodded, recognizing what she was talking about, "That new one looked like a Pegasus Knight."

"It was." I replied, "It rode a black, Risen Pegasus when it appeared."

Anna's eyes widened, "Well… I'd say your dumb luck has remained. We're all alive, and as far as I'm aware, that Deadlord is not pursuing."

"Yet," I replied. "I'm sure once Grima is finished with Ylisstol, and he realizes we aren't there, he'll make a beeline for Mount Prism."

"That's only if he figures out what we're up to, which I doubt he will," Anna countered as she folded her hands in her lap, her eyes drooping a little. "Bastard's too arrogant to think that we might have something like time travel up our sleeve."

I snorted, "To be fair, if you were in his situation, would you think of that?"

Anna furrowed her brow as she thought a moment, "Touche, Samuel. Touche." She drew in another deep breath, "Well, since we're just sitting here; I suppose I should both scold, and thank, you for turning the cart around and saving me."

I uttered a laugh at that, "Let's just say we're even. You saved my life first during that affair."

"Except I didn't freeze, and you did."

"Does it matter?" I replied.

Anna pursed her lips, then shrugged, "I suppose it doesn't."

I nodded, and we both fell silent again, both of us unwilling, or afraid, to address the elephant in the cart.

Anna came back. She came to the rescue and managed to hold off the Deadlord long enough for all of the kids, myself, Donnel, and herself to escape Ylisstol. If not for her actions, and her return, I was certain I would be dead, and so would some of the kids. We also would not have made it nearly as far during this first leg of our journey without the cart. In a single decision, Anna gave our mission an even greater chance of success.

But why? Why did she come back? She was so dead set on leaving Ylisse and finding a safe haven across the sea. What made her change her mind?

Her red eyes flicked to me, and a wry smirk crossed her lips.

_Why do I get the feeling she just read my mind?_

"I don't like boats much."

I did a double-take, "H-how did you-"

"You were either thinking really hard about something, or you're very constipated." Anna said, her smirk unwavering, "And there's only one thing I know you could be thinking of right now."

I shifted in my seat, then kicked my feet up as well, weariness slamming into me as my body relaxed into the hard, wooden seat.

"Get seasick?" I asked.

Anna wiggled her hand, "Mildly. Not too bad, but it's not fun either."

"Don't like getting wet?"

"When I only have one set of clothes, not really."

"Afraid you wouldn't find anything out there?"

Anna fell silent after I asked that question, and I worried I pressed too far. But after a moment of silence, she sighed, then spoke.

"I was afraid of being alone." A sound of disbelief left her lips as she shook her head, "Of all the things… I was afraid of being alone again. Somehow, death isn't as scary as that."

I drew back in my seat, stunned. I was unsure of how to respond, so I said nothing. My eyes drifted away from Anna, and up to the pitch-black sky above us.

_I wish there were stars._

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe fate can change?" Anna asked.

A loaded question if I ever heard one, and I knew why she was asking it. Anna was ruminating on the fate I told her about. The future I knew, where all of the adult Shepherds perished, and only the kids made it to the past. Her question hit me even harder when I realized why she was asking it. Anna had a feeling that her decision to come back would be the one that kills her.

"Yeah," I muttered, my eyes feeling heavier as the black sky above me grew blurry.

My consciousness started to slip. I fought against it, and despite my best efforts, sleep's comforting grasp wrapped around me. My body felt heavy, and I heard Anna's muffled chuckle next to me.

"I'll wake ya when we get going again." Her faint voice said.

I'm not sure if I said anything in response. All I know is that I was awake one moment, then asleep the next.

**And chapter! Ylisstol has fallen, and all that is left is our plucky band of Shepherds, Anna, and Donnel. It's going to be a desperate race to Mount Prism, so I hope you all are ready for it. Not much else to say about this chapter. Let me know what you all think of it. As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

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	35. The Retreat

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 33

The Retreat

Shadows consumed my dreams. Dense darkness that felt cold, even though I knew it wasn't real, swirled around me. I glanced at the darkness, puzzled as the cold crept through my clothes then crawled up my spine. I shivered, and as I shook, a dark rumble rattled the shadowy world around me.

A dull roar reverberated around me, making me squeeze my eyes shut. When the roar died away, I opened my eyes and saw the sand-covered city of Doluna before me. Terror burst to life within me as I laid eyes upon that Fell city once again. I always thought that if I never saw Doluna again, it would be too soon, but apparently my mind has a twisted sense of humor.

I swallowed hard and tried to turn away, only to feel my legs stuck in place. Every attempt I made to twist away, to turn my head, or even to backpedal from the city ended with me still in the same spot, overlooking the city. My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard as more fear filled me.

_I need to wake up._

"Samwise…"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. A pillar of sand rose in front of me, taking the shape of Tiki. The sand-avatar shifted as an icy wind blew over it, sending grains of sand away from her face. As the grains fell, I realized that the scars left in the sand resembled the wounds Tiki had when she died.

_What the hell?_

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sand-Tiki said, her shadowed out eyes glaring at me, "Why did you let me die?"

My knees knocked together, "I-I-"

"Lucky."

Another pillar of sand rose from the ground, and I blanched. A statue of Gaius formed in the second pillar, and it turned to me. The face lacked his friendly, lackadaisical grin. Instead, a long frown rested on its lips as he glared at me.

"I always knew something was off about you." Sand-Gaius began, his voice snarling at me, "And I hoped that you would grow to trust the Shepherds. Instead, you kept the ritual to yourself, and we died as a result."

I shook my head and tried to speak. But my lips stayed shut, no sound escaped my mouth, and my eyes widened in panic.

More statues formed. First Libra and Flavia, as they stood behind Gaius. Then Maribelle, Lissa, Frederick, Henry, Miriel, and Sully rose. Each of the sand statues glared at me with accusatory, hollow gazes.

My heart hammered in my chest. For some reason, the statues appeared to grow taller, until I realized they were not growing; I was sinking. The sands of Doluna were consuming me. My breath rushed in and out of my lungs in panic-filled gasps. I tried to move, tried to pull myself free from whatever quicksand I stood in, but my limbs refused to budge. I was as still as the statues in front of me. Doomed to be consumed by the Plegian sands.

Another dull roar rang out. One by one, the statues crumbled to dust, till only Gaius and Tiki remained. I wanted to cry out to them; to scream at the top of my lungs that I was sorry, and that I was fighting hard now. Of course, no matter what, the apology wouldn't matter. They were dead, I was alive... but it could have been different.

Why didn't I act sooner? Why didn't I say anything sooner? Would admitting my origins, and the possibility of a time travel ritual, have done anything to save their lives? I don't know.

One more roar reverberated through the darkness, and Tiki and Gaius crumbled. Now only my head remained above the sand. I lost all feeling in my limbs as the earth tightened around me. I gasped for air and tried to struggle my way to the surface, but I was still motionless. My eyes squeezed shut again, and I waited for the earth to swallow me whole.

Sand crunched in front of me. As the roar faded away, quiet, mocking laughter followed it. The laughter made my blood go cold and forced my eyes open.

Grima stood in front of me. His ruby eyes glowered down at me with smug satisfaction as his home devoured me. A cold smile crossed his pale lips as he knelt in front of me.

"Well, thief," His hand scooped up some sand, cupped it in front of my face for a moment. Slowly, he relaxed his grasp on the sand, allowing grains to trickle between his fingers like small drops of water from a running faucet. "Do you realize the depth of your failures? Do you understand how you doomed all of them?"

I sank further down. My face remained above the earth, and Grima laughed.

"Now, just like your foolish friends…"

I let out a cry that was quickly muffled by sand running down my throat as the last glimpses of sky left my sight.

"... I will consume you."

* * *

I burst awake, a sharp breath shooting from my lips as I shot upright in my seat. My chest heaved up and down as ragged gasps rushed in and out of my lungs. My brain was still trying to catch up with the fact that I was not choking on icy sand right now, as brief flashes of Grima's ruby eyes raced through my mind. My right hand patted my chest and stomach as I struggled to figure out if I was still in a nightmare or not.

My heart started to slow when I heard some of the Shepherds muttering nearby, followed by sleepy mumbling come from Anna next to me. Seems she couldn't stay awake either. Not that I blamed her for falling asleep, she did drive the cart non-stop for a day and a half. That sort of thing can be quite taxing, as I knew all too well thanks to the desperate escape from… from Doluna.

I swallowed hard as the nightmare raced back to the front of my mind. Another ragged gasp left my lips and I leaned forward in my seat, my head falling into my hands as I tried to calm down. My fingers raked through my brown hair, before getting snarled in a knot, making me hiss.

My hands fell to my sides and I leaned back in my seat again, eyes looking up to the black sky. I knew I slept, but I sure do not feel rested. My eyes remained heavy, and the aches have not left my body. But with Anna asleep, and Donnel probably asleep too, that left me as one of the only Shepherds awake. Which means the role of watchman fell to me.

_Can't sleep with Grima haunting my dreams anyways._

As quietly as I could, I slipped down from my seat, my boots crunching against the gravel and dirt road as I tiptoed around the cart. As I walked, I heard a pair of hushed voices snipping at each other in the cart. Before I could guess who they were, Morgan jumped out of the back of the cart and stormed away.

_Well, that was guess number one._

Severa jumped out after her, face red with anger as she chased after Morgan.

… _And there's guess number two._

I paused beside the cart as I watched the two sisters storm off towards the precipice beside us, far away from the other slumbering Shepherds. Whatever they wanted to talk about, they wanted to do in private, and I was content to leave it that way. That is until I saw Severa reach Morgan, roughly grab her shoulder, and violently spin her around as they stood close to the edge.

Their voices steadily rose from whispers to hushed hisses, then snarls. I raised my eyes to the black sky, a quiet curse slipping from my lips. For some reason, I had a feeling I needed to intervene before things got ugly.

My boots crunched along the gravel road as I cautiously made my way towards the arguing Sisters. Morgan remained much quieter than Severa as the red-haired sister seethed at her over something. A topic I believe I only caught the ending of as I drew near.

"And don't you think you should've brought it up sooner?" Severa snarled.

I quirked an eyebrow, my heart stopping in my chest. Did Morgan tell Severa that their father was Grima? If she did, then I could understand Severa's anger, but Morgan's cold expression I did not understand. If they were discussing something that heavy, I expected her to be a teary-eyed mess. Then again, she seemed to have this thought in her head that she needed to remain strong and stoic to be an effective tactician. I've only seen that coldness fall one time, and that was when she was certain of our defeat after we learned that we failed to steal Sable.

"If I knew about the time travel ritual sooner don't you think I would've brought it up right away?" Morgan replied, her voice monotone, but I could see her jaw tightening as Severa pressed her back to the wall- er- cliff's edge.

"That's the thing, I don't know if you would have!?" Severa snapped, her voice rising as her face reddened. "How am I supposed to trust you, Morgan? You don't talk to any of us. You hardly spend time with the Shepherds anymore. You secluded yourself in that damn study all day, refusing to see anyone, me and Lucina included. And ever since you took over tactician duties, we've suffered terrible losses!" Morgan's face fell as Severa shook while speaking, "I mean, who do you think you are? Dad!?"

I froze a few feet away from the sisters. That last comment coaxed a sudden change in Morgan. There was a flash in her eyes, and a snarl coming over her lips as Severa kept speaking.

"News flash, you aren't! So quit trying to-"

Morgan's fist snapped out and tagged Severa on the chin. The older sister stumbled back a step, eyes wide with shock. Before she could recover, Morgan pounced. The smaller girl tackled Severa to the ground, and Severa fought back.

Severa threw a fist at Morgan's cheek, scraping her knuckles along her sister's chin as Morgan jerked her head to the side. That sudden jerk gave Severa a chance to roll over, easily yanking Morgan onto her back with one sharp motion. Just when I thought Severa had Morgan pinned, Morgan's head snapped up. Their foreheads collided with a sharp crack, and Severa uttered a loud howl.

The force behind the headbutt made Severa reel. She fell back, off of Morgan, right to the edge of the cliff. Morgan winced, rubbing her forehead. The younger sibling recovered faster than Severa, and Morgan glared at her sister, waiting for her to retaliate. Severa rubbed her forehead, a wicked bruise already forming where their heads collided. A furious snarl crossed her lips. She took a step forward, and a crack formed in the earth in front of her.

All rage left Severa, and I rushed forward.

The earth gave way beneath Severa's feet. A loud cry left her lips as she lost her balance and began to fall. I didn't hear any of the other Shepherds wake up when she cried out. I was only focused on catching her. As Morgan remained where she sat, stunned, perhaps even petrified; I dove forward, my body sliding along the gravel road.

I skidded to a stop right at the broken cliff's edge, and my hand shot out just in time to catch Severa by her right wrist. I felt her fingers tighten around my wrist like a vice, making me wince as she uttered panic-filled cries below me.

"Oh, Naga!" Severa exclaimed, her red eyes briefly flicking down to the dark chasm below her.

I grit my teeth and tried to pull her up. I tugged with all my strength, but I was not strong enough to get her back up onto solid ground. Sweat built up in my hand, and my eyes widened with worry as I felt my grip begin to slip.

"Sam, pull me up!"

"I'm try-"

Before I could finish talking, a ball of green wind fluttered beneath Severa and boosted her up a few inches, raising her high enough for Morgan to reach out a hand to her. Not even taking a second to think about it, Severa's other hand rushed to Morgan's.

"Gotcha." Morgan breathed, heavy breathes rushing in and out of her lungs. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a tear stain or two on her cheeks.

A cold wind blew through the pass, making me shiver. I adjusted my position, getting to a spot where I could pull Severa up easily.

"On three." I breathed, and Morgan nodded, "One… two…"

I didn't even have to say three. We tugged on Severa and managed to pull her back up to the cliff's edge. After taking a moment to catch our breaths, Morgan and I pulled one more time, dragging Severa back up onto solid ground. Once she was safe, I let go of her hand and lay flat on my back, frigid air rushing in and out of my lungs.

"Too close."

"Severa!" Morgan exclaimed.

I slowly sat up. For a brief moment, I glanced behind me and saw the other Shepherds were awake. Some were on the verge of rushing towards us to break the two sisters up, but I noticed Anna, wide-awake, and shaking her head at all of them. Seems she had a feeling the two siblings needed to resolve their quarrel, one way or another, and without any outside interference. So, the Shepherds remained where they stood, observing with silent tension as the two siblings faced each other once again.

I turned my gaze back to the siblings. Morgan held onto Severa's shoulders, worried eyes roving over her sister. Severa meanwhile, refused to look her younger sister in the eye.

"Are you okay?" Morgan gasped, "I-I'm so sorry I-"

"Get your hands off of me," Severa grumbled, shrugging one hand from her right shoulder and brushing Morgan's other hand away with her own.

Morgan's hands fell to her side as she knelt in front of her sister, eyes wide, lips trembling. The coldness she displayed was gone; replaced by disbelief, shock, guilt, a multitude of emotions that someone as young as her shouldn't be feeling.

Severa rose to her feet, leaving Morgan stunned where she knelt.

"I'm going back to-"

"What the hell is your problem!?" Morgan roared, making Severa stop in her tracks.

Severa kept her back turned to Morgan as the younger sister rose to her feet. Another icy wind whipped through the pass, making her over-sized coat flutter around her.

"My problem?" Severa croaked.

"Yeah, what is- I mean-" Morgan raked a hand through her black hair, "Why are you so damn angry!? What did I do to you to make you hate me, to be always mad at all of us?"

"You-" Severa bit her tongue as she turned to face her sister. "You just-" Her teeth clenched tight, and her hands balled up at her sides. "You're supposed to be Miss Perfect!"

Morgan's mouth fell open, and Severa returned fire.

"You're supposed to be the one to be able to lead us, along with Lucina." Severa's voice trembled as she spoke. They lacked their previous fury, and instead sounded like she was on the verge of sobbing, "But… you- you failed! All of our parents, except for Donnel, are dead. Our home is gone. Grima reigns, and now we are pinning our hopes on some far-flung time travel ritual that we didn't know about until recently. How can I not be angry, or terrified, by that!?"

The two siblings fell quiet. The wind moaned through the pass, whistled through the tall peaks around us, and caused me to shiver again.

"I'm the perfect child, huh? Funny, I thought that was supposed to be you."

Morgan's voice fell in volume as her anger ebbed away. Severa, meanwhile, looked at Morgan, stunned.

"M-me? But-"

"But you're our mother's daughter." Morgan interrupted, "Other than Lucina, you are the best swordsman in the Shepherds. You're the most tenacious fighter I think I've ever seen, and I include Kjelle and Mrs. Sully in that number. Every time you pick up a sword and fight, it's like I'm seeing mom all over again. It leaves me in awe." A snort came from Morgan, "And she was the genius, after all." A heavy, shuddering sigh left her lips. "And then… then there's me. The tactician that is unable to live up to our father's legacy. I'm barely the swordsman, half the mage, and a fraction of the tactician he was. I-I have no doubt if he was here, by our side, we wouldn't be in the situation. Hell, we might not even need this time travel ritual. I'm…"

Morgan swallowed hard as she choked on her words.

"I'm well aware of how my strategies have failed, Sev. I-I wrack my brain every waking moment for ways I could've gone about things differently."

A dry, hoarse sound, bordering on an exasperated laugh, left Morgan's lips as she regarded Severa's dumbfounded expression.

"I'm not dad, Sev. I couldn't even beat him in a game of chess. I wish I could be like him, and I thought that maybe by embodying how he acted, I could. Perhaps… perhaps that was wrong of me. But, I can't go back and change that now. All I can do is fight harder, and hope that maybe I can come up with a stronger strategy for us next time."

Morgan moved past Severa and made her way towards the cart. As she drew near the cart, she paused and glanced back at Severa.

"I don't know about you Sev, but… I do care a lot about you. You're the only family I have left, and I would die for you." Her throat bobbed, "For what little it's probably worth to you; I'm sorry for everything."

With those last words, Morgan turned away and walked towards the cart. The other Shepherds remained still where they stood, none of them so much as making a noise as the sullen tactician climbed up into the cart. Severa, meanwhile, still looked like she was on the verge of tears. I could see her lower lip trembling as she fought to contain herself.

The silence broke when Anna cleared her throat.

"Well, since we're all up-" She uttered a small yawn, stretched her arms, and nodded for me to get back to my seat on the cart, "Let's get going."

A shuddering breath rattled from Severa's lungs, and she straightened where she stood. I thought she would turn around and rush to the cart in order to say something to Morgan, maybe even apologize? But before any of us could move, the coldest wind I ever felt in my life whipped through the pass, causing goosebumps to form on my flesh. As the wind died, a sound fluttered through the narrow road that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

It was a low, haunting moan. The kind of noise that sent chills running up and down my spine. The kind of demonic sound that made my heart hammer in my chest and a knot form in my throat. My head slowly turned to the road behind us.

The moan grew louder, rising into an ear-piercing shriek that made my knees knock.

"Anna…" I gulped.

"Everyone, we need to get moving!" Anna barked.

The still weary members of our company piled into the cart, with Noire and Morgan holding the rear of the cart. Noire already had an arrow nocked on her bowstring as her dark eyes flitted back and forth through the pass. Morgan appeared grim, a few tears still dripping down her cheeks as her right hand cradled her spellbook.

Lucina moved to the front of the cart with Donnel, while Kjelle, Inigo, and Owain moved to protect the rear. Severa did not move at all, the poor girl still paralyzed by what Morgan told her. I whipped my gaze back to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her from her stunned stupor.

"Sev, we need to-"

The loudest shriek I've ever heard cut me off. I squeezed my eyes shut as the blood-curdling scream echoed through the mountain peaks. As the wail faded to mere echoes, I cracked my eyes open. All of us were still beside the cart, our breathing hushed as we strained to hear where the shrieking was coming from.

That's when the earth started to rumble.

_Oh, God!_

Every disaster movie I have ever seen in my old life flashed through my mind. My eyes whipped to the snow-capped peaks next to the cart.

It started with the gentle fall of a single, icy pebble, followed by a dozen or so more. The great snow and ice sheet on the side of the mountain cracked, and all of the breath was stolen from my lungs.

I didn't bother to say anything to Severa. I snatched her by the wrist and yanked her towards the cart.

"Run!" Donnel bellowed as loud as he could, causing the mountain to shudder again.

Anna jumped into the seat of the cart, I clambered into the chair beside her. Just as Anna was about to snap the reins, another ear-piercing wail shook the mountain, followed this time by the snarl of wyverns.

My eyes shot to the dark sky, expecting to see undead Wyverns and their Risen riders descending down on us. When I saw nothing in the inky blackness, I assumed, for a moment, that I was mistaken.

"Watch out!"

Anna shoved me from the cart, and I heard her horse scream. I hit the ground hard, my body bouncing on the gravelly road, then rolling a couple of feet before finally coming to a stop. I winced as pain lanced through my head. Hot, sticky blood plastered the side of my head from where my head cracked against the ground. Thankfully, the adrenaline pumping through my veins kept me awake and moving. I quickly scrambled to my feet, just in time to come face to face with an undead wyvern clawing its way up the canyon walls beside us.

The wyvern's hot, rancid, rotten breath washed over my entire body as it's ruby eyes glistened with delight. For some reason, I got the feeling that it could sense the fear pulsing through my body as it clawed its way up the cliff's edge so that its claws dug into the earth beside me. It's black, scaly lips curled back, revealing wicked jaws and teeth that were as long and sharp as my long dagger.

I screamed. The wyvern opened its jaw to devour me, then a black arrow jammed its way down its throat, causing it to utter a loud croak as it stumbled back off of the cliff's edge.

Someone's arms hooked beneath mine, and they easily yanked me to my feet.

"Not a good time to lie down, Samwise!" Anna snapped, "Especially when wyverns are breathing down our neck."

I scrambled after her, chasing after the other Shepherds as they raced away from a horseless cart. A chorus of roars erupted around us, and I could hear the distinct crunch of talons scraping against solid rock as more wyverns clambered up the sheer slopes from the canyon below. For a brief second, I glanced behind me and paled as one wyvern grabbed the now empty cart in its large jaws and tossed it off of the mountain pass. Its serpentine head snapped in my direction, and it roared before taking flight.

Five other wyverns soared into the sky alongside the large one that destroyed Anna's cart. They circled over our heads as all of us sprinted through the mountain pass. Occasionally, Noire, Morgan, Laurent, and Nah paused their running to fire arrows or spells at the growing number of Wyverns emerging from the canyon. I managed to glimpse two wyverns get hit by a pair of branching lightning bolts. As they fell to the ground, they crumbled into piles of ash, their bodies never impacting against the cold ground.

The next group of wyverns to surge up from the canyon had riders. Risen monsters with grotesque black masks and shimmering, black axes glowered down at us from their mounts. Morgan barked out an order for the spellcasters and Noire to get into the center of our column, while everyone else moved to protect them, creating a shell of sharpened steel around the people that could shoot the Wyverns out of the sky. The entire time, we kept running.

Our group rounded a sharp corner in the pass. Further up the gravel road, I noticed a tight choke point sheltered by rocky overhangs. Morgan must've noticed it too because she shouted for all of us to rush towards that spot.

A wyvern dove down on us as we neared the rocky shelter. Before its talons could rake through our ranks, Falchion flashed in the night, slashing at its scaly claw and making it think twice about its dive. That hesitation was long enough for Morgan to focus a devastating fire spell. An enormous boom erupted from her spell as it engulfed the Wyvern and the Risen riding it, easily burning the monster to ash.

The mountain shook again, and the great crack in the ice and snow on the peak widened. Morgan hissed out a curse, noticing the crack as well. She said something to Laurent and Nah, but I did not hear it. At that moment, another sharp wail screamed through Breakneck Pass. A scream that signaled the presence of a particular beast in service of Grima.

At the edge of the choke point in the pass I turned around, and my legs turned to jello.

A black pegasus came to a soft landing near the last bend in the pass. The Deadlord that nearly slew me, and nearly ruined our mission before it began, glowered at us from atop its mount. It pointed its jagged lance towards us, and the ground in front of her cracked open.

Rotting hands, with bits of flesh hanging from exposed tendons and bone, clawed their way out of the mountain's bowels. Skulls with thin pieces of meat and sinew poked from the rocky ground, and with them came a great, pain-filled moan. As if these poor souls were being raised from the earth against their will.

They bore no weapons, but that did not make these Risen any less dangerous. When they arose from the ground, they moved like puppets on strings. All of their movements were clumsy, awkward, gangling motions, like baby deer first learning to walk.

The deadlord hissed at its creations. They stiffened, turned towards us as we took shelter in the chokepoint and rocky overhangs above us, then screeched.

They ambled towards us faster than any normal Risen, or creature, should have. Death and malice flooded their glowing, crimson eyes, and the deadlord slowly advanced behind them.

Donnel grasped me by my shoulder and shoved me behind him. Kjelle hefted her great shield and shoved her way past me, along with Lucina, Severa, Owain, Gerome, and Inigo. Noire's bowstring already sang as she fired one black arrow after another at our new enemies. Morgan, Laurent, and Nah were preoccupied with fending off the wyverns. Although, I did hear Morgan utter a sharp curse when she spotted the Deadlord and its minions.

The first Risen that reached us broke against Kjelle's shield. The large girl snarled and jammed her spear through it's exposed ribcage. She gave her spear a harsh tug right after the thrust, disemboweling the Risen and making it scream. Despite Kjelle's vicious blow, it did not stop its assault. Not until Falchion slashed its head from its shoulders.

The next few Risen slammed into our thin line, snarling, screeching, and clawing at us. One managed to squeak past Inigo and Owain, its shambling form sprinting directly for a distracted Morgan. Anna got in its way, her daggers quickly delivering death to the monster. When a second monster slipped through the line, I drew my kukri and slashed through the Risen's forearm. Anna followed up, jamming one of her daggers through its left eye. Finally, I jerked my long dagger free from its scabbard and stabbed it through the Risen's chest. With a groan, the Risen crumbled to ash.

"Morgan!" Anna shouted, "Any way out of this?"

"Unless you plan on getting picked apart by Wyverns, I highly suggest we stay here!" Morgan shouted back, a lightning bolt leaving her fingers and arcing into the sky, narrowly missing one of the Risen Wyverns circling over our heads.

"That Deadlord keeps summoning more!" Kjelle cried.

My heart pounded in my chest as I watched more Risen rise from the ground, and break free from the rock wall beside us. Meanwhile, the Deadlord continued its methodical trot towards us, and I dreaded what would happen if it reached us. With our best fighters distracted by the Risen grunts, there would be no way for us to take on the Deadlord as a team. And this time, we don't have the cart to get away from it.

_If we run further up the pass, the Wyverns will swoop down on us. We can't retreat, the Deadlord has us cut off. And if we stay here… _I swallowed hard, sweat beading on my brow as I jammed my kukri into the skull of another Risen that managed to get past our meager front line.

"We can't stay here, Morgan." Anna snarled, helping me take down the next Risen that got past Kjelle.

"I know!" Morgan snapped, "Give me a minute!"

The Deadlord spurred its pegasus into a gallop, leveling its lance as it charged towards the choke point. Lucina grit her teeth, Severa snarled, Owain and Inigo took a step back, and Kjelle beat her armored chest with her spear.

"Come and get it, you filthy excuse for a knight!" She roared.

"Don't antagonize it!" Donnel exclaimed.

"This is bad!" Inigo cried.

"Hold firm!" Lucina bellowed, hacking another Risen to ashes with Falchion.

Two Risen slipped by our lines, and I heard Inigo hiss out in pain as one of their bony hands slashed a cut across his cheek. Donnel yelped next as another Risen barreled into him, nearly picking him up off of his feet. Anna dashed in and filled the gap, her daggers dancing in her hands as she slashed through one Risen after another.

I took care of the Risen tackling Donnel, then helped him to his feet. He gave me a quick nod in thanks, then rushed back to our front line. As he returned to his spot, I glanced at Morgan. She had stopped firing spells into the sky and instead had her eyes glued to the massive crack in the mountain peak over our heads. Her eyes flicked from the peak to the Deadlord charging at us, and the growing throng of Risen following it.

"We need a delay…" She whispered. Her eyes closed and she drew in a deep breath, "We need to make a break for it."

"And deal with the Wyverns!?" Severa cried.

"Wyverns or a Deadlord, pick your poison," Morgan replied.

Severa clenched her jaw, cut down one more Risen, then gave her a nod.

"On my signal!" Morgan called, tapping me on the back, "Move to the rear and provide help to Laurent, Nah, Cynthia, and Noire."

I drew in a deep breath and did what I was told. My group was the first to break through the rear. We rushed back a few feet, then turned to provide cover for the others. Morgan barked, and the line folded, with Anna, Donnel, Severa, and Lucina the last ones to turn and run.

I turned to start running again as wyverns roared over my head when I heard Severa utter a cry. Fearing she was hurt, I glanced towards her and saw that she had stopped running. Confusion filled me until I saw Morgan did not retreat with us. She stood in the chokepoint, spellbook open but no spells firing from her free hand. The Risen swarmed towards her, and the Deadlord stormed towards her.

"Morgan!" Severa screamed, turning to rush back to her.

Morgan glanced back at us, tears misting in her eyes. The corner of her mouth twitched up into a faint smile as a dense ball of lightning crackled in her hand. The ball grew larger and larger until it covered her entire hand. To my shock, a green whip of wind shot out from her, picking Severa up off of her feet and tossing her back. Severa hit the ground, jumped back to her feet, and screamed as she rushed towards her. Lucina moved to join Severa, but before either of them could reach Morgan, the young tactician exhaled and launched her enormous lightning spell into the side of the mountain.

The earth shook beneath my feet. An enormous crack echoed through the pass, and my blood ran cold. I looked up to the mountain peak and saw the side of the mountain start to slide down in a mighty avalanche.

"Move!" Donnel roared, grabbing Lucina by the shoulder, spinning her around and shoving her up the pass, away from the oncoming avalanche.

Anna moved to stop Severa from rushing towards Morgan. She tackled the redhead to the ground then, with the help of Kjelle and Owain, pulled her away. Morgan glanced back at us one more time, then turned to face the Deadlord, who had ground to a halt upon seeing the avalanche rushing down towards the road.

"Sam, run!"

I glanced at Morgan as she fired spell after spell at the Risen in front of her, the wyverns circling above us, and the Deadlord. Two of her spells took down a pair of wyverns, sending them screaming to the canyon floor, and giving us a greater chance of escaping the carnage. A knot formed in my throat, as I slowly realized Morgan never planned on escaping with us. This was the best strategy she could think of.

I grit my teeth, turned on my heel, and ran, barely getting out of the way of the massive tide of ice, snow, and rock cascading down the mountain. It consumed the choke point, the Risen, the Deadlord… and Morgan. Briefly, I heard a shriek come from the Deadlord and saw it and its pegasus carried over the edge of the cliff by the snow. Swept up in the unrelenting wave.

The enormous noise, like a continuous roll of thunder, coming from the avalanche drowned out all other sounds. Even Severa's screams of agony failed to ring out over the avalanche as Donnel picked her up, threw her over his shoulder, and sprinted away from the avalanche and the Risen it devoured.

No one looked back. No one turned around. We all ran. All except for Severa, whose screams turned to sobs as the death moans of Risen rose through the mountains.

**And chapter! Whew, that was a chapter. Bet ya'll didn't see that coming, huh? The butterfly effect of Sam being in this world is beginning to emerge now, and it's only going to grow as the story continues. We're going to see some wild stuff here soon, and I'm very excited to bring it to you all. This has been way too much fun to write. Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day  
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	36. The Long Night

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 34

The Long Night

Mount Prism was not the tallest mountain in the range that Breakneck Pass ran through. Nor was it the most conspicuous from a distance. The only reason we knew we had arrived at the supposedly sacred place was when Cynthia, who marched ahead of us as our most energetic scout, spotted strange rocks popping up along the sides of the pass. Upon further inspection, Anna identified the rocks as the remnants of a village, that once existed in these rocky cliffs and canyons.

But, much like the rest of the world, there was nothing left but ruins. Cracked, broken stones and bricks; splintered, half-rotted wooden beams; and faint evidence of stone pavers that had been ground to pebbles from years of harsh, icy weather beating down upon them was all that remained of a small village that sat atop the peak long ago.

Among those ruins though stood one partially intact structure. It was a temple that sat at the peak of Mount Prism. Great stone columns held up a stone roof that towered over the rest of the ruins. Ice crept in long veins through the cracked stone while snow caked the great, slick steps that led up to the Temple. More than once, I slipped on a patch of ice hidden beneath the thick, white blanket. And more than once, one of the Shepherds caught me before I went tumbling back down the mountains. Part of me expected them to tease me for my clumsiness, but then I was reminded of the events of the past few days, and my mood turned dour as well.

So much had been lost in such a short amount of time. I may not feel like a part of this world; at least not as much as my friends who have lived here their entire lives, but my heart did ache for the losses we suffered. While I expected the adult Shepherds to fall, as they did in the game's story, I never expected the most devastating loss to hit us.

Morgan's death hit everyone like a titanic punch in the gut. It stole our drive, our spark, and our spirits. Severa was the most affected. For the first day and night after that terrible event, she sobbed. Some of us tried to comfort her, most notably Donnel, Lucina, and Cynthia, but she would scream at them to go away.

After the first day, her sobs turned into silent weeping in the night, then into a cold silence that made everyone close to her shiver. No one tried to speak to her, no one tried to console her. The only time Severa interacted with any of us was when someone brought her what meager rations we had for her. Even then, she said nothing. She would snatch the food from the hands of whoever brought it to her, then nibble on it in silence.

Did I blame her for her demeanor? No. I could not even begin to fathom the pain Severa felt right now. Her entire family; her mother, her father, and now her sister, were gone. I may be a part of this hellish world, fighting in a losing war, but I would never know the agony that came from such terrible losses. My family was safe and sound in Appleton, oblivious to the terrors I was experiencing. A part of me felt bad that I was grateful for that.

_Don't dwell on it. _I shook my head, and those thoughts went away, _Focus on the mission._

That's the only thing that kept any of us going anymore. The mission, the hope. It drove us in our march to Mt. Prism. It kept all of us from crumbling, kept one foot in front of the other, through the weariness and despair that we all felt.

That weariness finally caught up to us when we reached the doors of the Temple. Cynthia, Noire, and Nah let out groans as they slumped to the ground, letting their backs press against a stone column. Owain drew in deep, heavy breaths as he leaned against that same pillar, next to Cynthia. Laurent calmly took a seat on the top step, removed his hat, and stared out at the black sky and the shadow covered peaks behind us. Gerome, Brady, and Inigo found a second pillar to sit against.

The only Shepherds that remained standing were Lucina, Donnel, Severa, and Anna. Severa marched closest to the closed Temple doors, keeping her distance from the rest of us, as usual. Lucina weaved through different Shepherds, checking up on everyone. Donnel moved to hand out what little food we had left, making sure the weariest kids got their small meals first. As he did that, Anna stepped towards me as I stood at the top step, looking out at Breakneck Pass and the canyon running alongside it.

"Made it." She breathed, the cold wind whipping some of her red hair over her forehead.

I snorted, my breath coming out as a small puff of fog, "Barely." I drew in a deep breath, and glanced over my shoulder at the kids, my eyes eventually wandering over to Severa, "Got any idea how she's doing?"

Anna grimaced, "I'm probably one of the few who gets it. I lost my mother, and both of my sisters to this damn war." She pursed her lips, hands folding behind her back, "Although, I at least had the luxury of not seeing it happen right in front of me."

I nodded.

"Did you ever lose anyone, Sam, back in your old world?"

I shook my head, "No. The first time I'd ever seen anyone die was when Gaius was killed."

A grimace washed over my face as I recalled his death, and how crushing it was when it happened. Ever since, each death that happened did one of two things. It either battered me harder, and made me wilt, or I hardly noticed. Khan Flavia and Libra's deaths hardly affected me, since I didn't know them well. Tiki's death crushed me, but was that because she died, or because of my failure to keep my promise to Anna? If it was the latter, then the answer held disturbing implications.

"Morgan's doesn't seem to be bothering you as badly as the others," Anna noted, her voice hushed so the other's couldn't hear.

I shuddering breath left my lips, "Yeah… not sure if that's a good thing or not."

"Just keep that head of yours on straight, and you'll be fine." She took a breath and glanced around the ruin's main entry, "Any idea where we go from here?"

I shrugged, "Naga said she'd have something ready to go when we got here. I guess we're just waiting."

"Hopefully not for long." Anna muttered, "An avalanche will only delay the Risen for a little while."

"And I doubt Grima is unaware of where we are."

Anna nodded, "If he's anything like how he was when he was my friend, he's well aware." She patted my shoulder, "Let's hope his hubris gets the better of him."

I snorted, "Relying on the enemy's arrogance, absolutely foolproof."

"It's gotten us this far." Anna shot back with a smirk as I followed her towards the doors, "Alright kids, gather round here. That includes you, Gerome!"

I heard some indecipherable grumbling come from a lonesome pillar, and chose to ignore it. All of the kids gathered near Anna, except for Severa, who stayed in her spot leaning against the Temple doors. Although, I did see her eyes flick in our direction, so at least she was listening.

Anna glanced at everyone, "So, this is the place where the time travel ritual is supposed to take place. Right, Sam?"

I nodded, and Anna continued.

"Right now, we need to figure out the last few details of the ritual."

My eyes bugged from my skull. _We have details?_

"For now, get some rest. Grima and the Risen are going to get here. It's not a matter of if, only when. Eat, get some sleep, and be prepared. That is all." She glanced over at me and Lucina, "You two with me."

I gave Lucina a puzzled glance. Donnel replied with a quiet shrug, then the two of us followed Anna to the Temple doors. As we approached the massive doors, Anna cracked her knuckles and put her hands on one of them.

"Hopefully they budge."

Anna grunted, shoved, and the door groaned open, massive hinges whining and creaking as they moved for the first time in what might be centuries. A completely dark hall lay beyond the door, the shadows pitch black as no light filtered in from the outside.

I cautiously followed Lucina into the dark Temple. Behind me, Anna closed the door. I waited a moment for someone to light some sort of torch, only for Anna to hiss out curse behind me.

"Damn flint and steel, give me a spark."

I gulped, "N-no light?"

I could practically see, and feel, Anna's eye roll.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark."

My lips thinned, "Maybe a little."

"Can't we still speak like this?" Lucina asked.

"You will most likely miss certain details if you speak without seeing one another." A fourth voice interjected. A voice I recognized.

My gaze whipped further into the dark temple, and I saw a faint glow ignite within an ethereal fireplace. The fire flickered yellow and green, illuminating a strange room within the Temple. I recognized the room immediately, from the soft rug lining the inky floor, to the velvet chair near the fire. Lastly, Naga became visible, as she sat in her chair by the fire, a heavy tome in her lap, which she closed as we tiptoed further into her… room? Realm? Dimension?

_I still have no idea what's going on when this happens._

Naga's brow furrowed as we stepped further into the light, her sea-green eyes flicking from me, to Anna, then finally landing on Lucina. Her expression softened when she saw Lucina, and a faint, consoling smile passed over her lips.

"Welcome, Exalt. I wish we could have spoken under better circumstances."

Lucina's eyes widened. She said nothing and instead turned to me and Anna, searching for an explanation. Anna and I merely shrugged, causing a light chuckle to come from Naga.

"They have been between before, but this is a first for you, Exalt." She set her book onto a table that appeared out of thin air beside her chair, "Do not fret, nothing will harm you within this illusion."

"I-Illusion?" Lucina croaked, her mouthing hanging open as she looked wide-eyed at Naga, "Then is the Temple-"

"We are between, Exalt." Naga stated, her voice even as she spoke, "One foot within reality, the other within my realm. Thus, you are between, and-" A long, low yawn slipped from Naga's lips, "and the only reason I am not yawning more, is because I am excited."

Anna arched an eyebrow, "Excited?"

"You've figured it out!" I exclaimed, a swell of hope rising up within me.

Lucina's gaze whipped back to me, "Figured it out? What is it exactly? What do you-" A hitch left her lips, and her eyes narrowed at me, "The Time Travel Ritual was not a guarantee?"

I shrank beneath her stern glare, while Anna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"If Sam and Morgan didn't guarantee it, then you and Exalt Lissa would have never agreed to this plan." Anna droned, "Naga, have I taught you kids nothing? Never guarantee a deal unless you are really trying to sell it."

Lucina gave Anna an annoyed, and puzzled, look, "I don't recall that lesson."

Anna blinked, "Oh? Well… probably gave it to one of the other kids."

"Aren't we getting a little off-topic?" I remarked, gesturing to Naga, "The goddess has stuff to say."

Somehow, that comment managed to elicit an amused sound from Naga. She rose from her seat, gliding along the floor with silent footsteps as a familiar bookshelf appeared from the shadows.

"I suppose now is not the time to delve into the ramifications of such an observation, Samuel Wheeler. No, right now we must discuss the ritual, of which I have managed to draw up a solution."

Her thin fingers ran along the spines of many books until they landed on a book without a cracked spine. She plucked the book from the shelf and opened it, the leather binding cracking as it was popped open. A satisfied sound escaped Naga's lips as she held the book.

"I love a new book, even if I am the one who wrote it." She muttered, a content smile passing over her features. Her sharp eyes darted up to us again, "The details I have devised for the Time Travel Ritual are complex, and will require the Awakening Ritual to occur. Do you possess the Emblem and Gemstones?"

A flash of worry rushed through me, and I saw similar anxiety pass through Anna and Lucina. Lucina's blue eyes darted to her feet, then glanced to the shield strapped to her left arm.

"We have the Emblem, but we are missing Sable." She muttered.

Naga hummed at that, her brow furrowing in deep thought. I could see her lips move as she muttered words under her breath, before she nodded, willed a fountain pen into existence, and scribbled some notes in the book she held.

"A partial awakening should work." She commented, "Although, the ritual will be less precise. I can not guarantee that the ritual will place you where you need to be in the past."

Anna nudged my arm, "See what I mean? Never guarantee unless you're really trying to sell it."

"You think Naga is trying to sell us?" I whispered back.

Anna shrugged, "Do you know what goes through the mind of a god?"

"I thought you would, given you and her daughter were a thing?"

That managed to elicit a stern glare, but for some reason, I couldn't resist the slight tug I felt on the corners of my mouth. Anna must've noticed my wry smirk, because she jammed an elbow into my side, causing me to utter a sharp wheeze.

"What else does the ritual require, Naga?" Lucina asked.

"Time, unfortunately." Naga answered, "And you."

Lucina blinked, "Me?"

"Your blood is my link to this realm. Through it, combined with the awakening ritual, I will be able to manifest most of my power in order for the ritual to be completed."

"Most?" Anna remarked.

"I require all of the gemstones to be able to manifest my full power. The incomplete Emblem will make this time travel ritual inaccurate and dangerous. I hope you are prepared for such risks, Exalt."

Lucina swallowed, drew in a deep breath, and nodded, "Can't be riskier than fighting Grima now, right? When do we start?"

Naga offered Lucina a gentle smile. The ethereal dragon glided along the missing floor to Lucina and handed her the tome she held. Lucina's hands grasped the book with reverence, her fingers trembling as they curled around the book's binding. As soon as she took possession of the book, the ghostly world around us shimmered and rippled. Naga's serene features faded like smoke on the wind, and soon the shadowy realm faded away.

"_Now."_

Torches burst to life on pillars running the length of the Temple hall, banishing the pervasive darkness. The warm glow of the torchlight revealed a temple hall that had seen better days. The floor; which was once a pristine, polished marble, was cracked, dulled, and had dying vines snaking along it. Two of the once mighty pillars that held the ceiling up had fallen and lay in piles of heavy rubble off to the side. In fact, the only part of the temple that remained intact was the white stone table and marble dais at the very back of the temple hall.

A gasp slipped from Lucina's lips. Carefully, she approached the table, her feet crunching on dead vines as she crept forward. She clutched Naga's book to her chest as she drew close to the table, her eyes roving over it with awe and reverence.

"The Dragon's Table." She breathed.

A mild bit of confusion filled me. I glanced at Anna, who gave me a shrug. I guess she wasn't as enamored as Lucina.

"Uh, your majesty?" I said.

"Hm? Oh!" Lucina spun back around, "I, um, I think I need to do some things in this book. You two go rest with the others. If I need anything I will call for you."

Without another word, she turned away from us and faced the Dragon's Table. The pages of Naga's book crinkled as she opened the book. For a moment, Anna and I lingered, but when Lucina did not turn around, we took that as our signal to leave.

As we left, I heard more pages turn behind me, but I didn't pay any mind to the noise. Anna pulled one of the temple doors open, and I stepped forward, only for her to shove by me first, her fist slamming into my right shoulder as she marched.

"What the-"

"That's for reminding Naga that Tiki and I screwed."

My jaw fell open as I watched her saunter back to the kids.

"I was right!?"

* * *

I hate it when I can't sleep, especially when I feel exhausted. It's a terrible feeling. That sensation of my head nodding, heavy as a stone, tempting me to lie down, and yet, unable to let my eyes close, is an interesting one. It is a feeling of frustration, anger, sadness, and grim acceptance that comes with realizing that even if I were to fall asleep, nightmares would plague my dreams, and little rest would be had.

Yeah… that's what is going on right now. After fitfully tossing and turning on the cold, hard ground beside the Temple for several minutes; I forced myself upright, trudged over to one of the great stone columns, and sat up against it. As I took a seat, a frozen wind whipped over Mount Prism. I shivered and tried to wrap my dark cloak tighter around my body, hoping that it would act as some sort of shield against the brutal cold that had set in since the sun was swallowed by Grima's Shadow. Of course, the thin fabric did little to defend me from the frozen fangs tearing into my skin.

Hard to believe that, just a few months ago, I would have been bitterly complaining about this situation. Nowadays, the only sound that slipped from my lips was an annoyed grunt, followed by me shifting my body around the column so that it shielded me more from the wind whipping through the mountain pass.

I wasn't the only one situated like that. Most of the kids took shelter behind the columns of the Temple, huddling close for warmth. The frailest of us, Noire and Nah, huddled close to Yarne since his fur acted as a natural warmer. Meanwhile, the rest of the kids found their own cold spots on the ground and tried to sleep. Most actually managed to drift off, which shouldn't have surprised me. They were used to the desperation and trauma surrounding them. Sure, were the past few days more traumatic than anything else they've experienced? Absolutely. But, that didn't mean they did not know how to cope with it. Perhaps being around each other helped, in its own unique way.

Despite those observations, I also noticed that I was not the only one struggling to fall asleep. Donnel and Brady remained awake, huddled against a pillar to my right. They were whispering to each other, and I could hear some sniffles come from Brady while quiet words of comfort came from Donnel. Briefly, the two embraced. Donnel patted his son on the back with his one hand, noticed me, rose to his feet, and scooted towards my lonesome spot.

"Is Brady okay?" I asked as Donnel sank to a seat beside me.

The older Shepherd shivered as cold wind whipped around the column.

"Eh, kid'll be fine. He's tough, like me." Donnel fell quiet for a moment, and a small smile crossed his cracked lips, "He's a good kid. His… his Ma would be proud of him."

His throat bobbed, and I stayed silent. Comforting others, especially when they've lost someone or something close to them, has never been my strongest suit. The last time I tried to console someone was when I tried to talk to Anna after Tiki died. I didn't really comfort Anna. Instead, I made her a greasy breakfast.

_Not my best moment there._

Donnel groaned, then spat into the stones beside him. He sniffed hard and nudged me with his elbow.

"How're you holding up, kid?"

I shrugged, "As well as I can be, I suppose." My gaze drifted through the Shepherds again, and I noticed Anna whispering to Severa near the Temple doors. They didn't embrace as Donnel and Brady had, but instead continued to speak in hushed tones, with Severa looking sorrowful and uncomfortable the entire time. "Better than most, from the looks of things."

Donnel nodded, "You've got a different kind of toughness to ya, that's for sure." His eyes darted down to his lap for a moment, "That comforts me a bit."

"Why?"

Donnel pursed his lips, " 'Cause, you'll be going through whatever thing sends the kids back. They'll have someone looking out for them, and at least that someone's got a level head."

I opened my mouth to scoff at that description of me. I never considered myself to be the level-head of the group. Panic happens to be my middle name, even if I am doing less of it lately. But before I could argue against Donnel's words, the true meaning behind them hit me.

"Wh-what do you mean someone will look out for them?" I gave Donnel a hard stare, "You and Anna are coming too."

Donnel winced where he sat. His eyes flicked over to Brady, and a relieved sigh left his lips when he spotted Brady moving towards Noire and Nah in order to check on them. His son was oblivious to our conversation, and Donnel was glad for that.

"I don't know about Anna, kid," Donnel began, returned his attention to me, "But I've been treating this like my last mission the entire time. Call it a gut feeling, but-" His lips thinned as he thought for a moment, "but I don't think I'm going through with you kids. And the scary thing about that for me is that I'm kinda glad I might not be."

My brow furrowed in confusion, "Glad? How could you be glad? Brady needs you, and the others-"

"Brady's been without me since Themis." Donnel replied, his voice quiet and somber, "The person he needed was his Ma, and she's gone now."

He drew in a deep breath, his voice shaking at the mere mention of Maribelle. Even though they're relationship seemed contentious to me, during the few months I knew them, it was clear Donnel cared for her. I could see the intense regret, anger, and sorrow etched on his weathered, weary face as his mind went back to the Duchess of Themis. His throat bobbed, and he let out a long exhale.

"Kid, can I ask ya to do something for me?"

"Um sure."

"Other than make sure Brady's okay in the past, can ya make sure I don't fuck things up too?"

I furrowed my brow as Brady spoke, his jaw tight as he fought back emotions that he usually kept buried deep inside.

"I wasn't always like this, ya know. Wasn't always the drunk asshole most of the kids see me as. There was a time where I was a good pa to Brady, a good husband to Mari, and a good friend to the Shepherds. After Themis, after this," He raised the stump of his left hand, "I abandoned all those things. Got lost in my own head and now, at the end, I realize just how much of a jackass I was."

An annoyed sound left his lips and he shook his head.

"The point I'm trying to make is, when ya get to the past, keep these kids safe, and help them change fate. I'd… I'd like to be a good pa to Brady. If it can't happen in this time, then perhaps in another it'll happen."

A small, frozen tear dripped from his left eye. A tear he quickly wiped away with the back of his hand. He sniffled as another cold wind hit the temple.

"It's funny how your last moments make ya think of that shit, don't ya think?"

I shrugged, "I'm kinda hoping these aren't my last moments."

That managed to get a dry laugh from Donnel. His one hand clapped against my shoulder, and he gave me a rough shake.

"You'll make it through, don't ya worry." Donne nodded to himself again, and he glanced around at the kids, "One last chance to be a knight. Suppose I'll give Grima what for when he gets here."

I gulped at that, "You think he'll come here?"

"Be stupid of him not to." Donnel replied, "But who knows what that damn lizard is thinking. I sure as hell don't know."

As he spoke, I heard footsteps near my other side. A set of armor clanked against the stone column, and I felt someone tuck close to my side. I froze where I sat, slowly turned my head, and spotted Cynthia huddling next to me, with her arms tucked tight around her body and her spear leaning against the column. Her teeth chattered, and she tucked her body closer to mine.

"C-cold." She whimpered.

I raised an eyebrow, got up, and allowed her to scoot to the most sheltered spot behind the column. When I sat down again, another icy wind hit me, and I hissed, clenching my teeth.

_If I make it to the past, I hope I wind up somewhere warm._

"Can't sleep either?" I asked Cynthia.

The Princess shook her head, "N-nope. B-Between th-the cold, and the bad feeling I've got, c-can't catch a w-wink."

Her head swiveled around as she looked to the others. Her eyes roved over the group, even all the way to Gerome, who sat next to his Wyvern, Minerva, at the edge of the Temple stairs. Happy also sat next to Minerva, the smart dog using the large lizard as a shelter against the wind.

"Don't think a-anyone else other th-than Gerome is r-really sleeping."

I frowned, "What would help fix that?"

Cynthia's brow furrowed as she thought hard for a moment. Unbeknownst to me, the other kids were starting to gather around our column too. All save for Severa and Anna, who remained near the doors. Although I did catch a glimpse of them glancing over at us, before continuing with their quiet chat.

"Well," Cynthia shivered again, then bunched herself closer to Donnel, "I remember, whenever I had nightmares, my mom and dad would tell me a good bedtime story." She glanced at me, "Fun ones, y'know. Got any of those?"

I drew back. She's asking me to tell a bedtime story? I doubt the Cat in the Hat would work in this situation. That was usually the bedtime story I got growing up. Dr. Seuss, Where the Wild Things Are, and occasionally my parents would read to me-

My eyes widened, and a spark of inspiration hit me. I drew in a deep breath, and the kids leaned in closer. On the other side of the pillar, I heard Donnel utter a soft chuckle. For the first time that evening, a small smile crossed my lips, and a warm sensation filled me. Feelings of home, and friends, and a good adventure fluttered through my mind. So, I started the story.

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

* * *

The kids slept, and I remained awake. Sure, there were brief moments where my eyes closed and I drifted off, but they were few and far between. I'd sleep for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, then wake up with my heart pounding as worry flooded my mind. Eventually, I gave up on trying to sleep, and decided to creep away from the shell of kids around me and find my own column to sit at so I wouldn't disturb the others.

However, instead of going to a different column, I spotted Severa sitting next to the temple doors, her knees tucked tight to her chest as she shivered. Anna must've finished talking to her when I wasn't looking, but where did-

_Oh, _I spotted Anna sleeping against her own column, closer to Gerome, Minerva, and Happy. _There she is._

I hummed to myself and glanced over at Severa. I froze when I realized she was looking directly back at me. My lips pursed as I grimaced beneath her stare.

"Uh… good morning?"

"It's night time, idiot," Severa grumbled, before she shivered again.

I raised an eyebrow, "Who's the idiot, me, or the one who doesn't take shelter from the wind?"

Severa's gaze sharpened, "I don't need sh-shelt-"

Another biting wind rushed around us, drowning out her words. She winced and tucked her chin tight to her chest, her shivering growing worse by the second. A heavy sigh left my lips, and I shook my head. Stubborn girl was going to freeze to death if she kept this up.

Quietly, I walked over to her, unclasped my cloak, and held it out to her. Severa furrowed her brow and gave me an uncertain look. I swore there was a bit of irritation in her eyes as well, but it faded as I shook the cloak in front of her.

"It's not much, but it'll help."

Surprise filled her red eyes. She raised a hesitant hand, sniffled, then took the cloak from my hand, her fingers trembling due to the cold. Faster than I could blink, she wrapped the thin fabric tight around her frigid form, a content sigh slipping from her lips, making me smirk.

To my surprise, she didn't comment on the wry smile I had. Instead, she glanced at me again, then darted her eyes to the side.

"Th-thanks." She muttered.

With a shrug, I sank down to the ground beside her, my back pressing up against the Temple doors.

"It's what friends are for. Besides, I should be used to this kind of weather."

Severa gave me a puzzled look, "Used to this?"

I nodded, "You'd be surprised by how cold my home gets. Northeast Wisconsin is not for the faint of heart, or the summertime lover. Winters are long and hard, and every day I lived there I thanked God for electric heaters and good boots."

Severa tilted her head to the side, "Electric what?"

I snorted out a laugh, and waved a hand, "Don't worry about it." A heavy breath left my lips, puffing out in a faint mist, "If we survive this, I'll tell ya later."

I heard Severa scoff out a laugh, and felt her shiver next to me. Despite my cloak, she was still cold.

"You think we'll survive?" She asked, her voice trembling while she spoke.

I shrugged, "Gotta hope right?"

Severa snorted at that, "Hope? Hope's done us a whole lot of good now, hasn't it? Hope killed my parents. Hope killed everyone else's parents. And hope killed… killed my sister." She shook her head, "Maybe it's better not to hope."

I shifted where I sat, not entirely sure of how to respond to what she said. In a way, she was right. But perhaps she was looking at it from the wrong angle? Then again, should I even comment on how she thought about the deaths of those close to her? Seems like a rotten thing to do.

But if what I say can help her, then maybe it's worth it?

"Hope didn't kill them," I replied, making Severa furrow her brow at me. "Hope gave them the drive to fight long enough to see that hope come true." A heavy breath left my lips, "So… I'd say, don't give up on hope. Fates can change, and, well, we have a chance to be the ones to change it."

Severa's sorrowful eyes looked down at her lap. I could see her hands fidgeting beneath the fabric of my cloak as she pondered my words.

"I-" Her voice cracked, and she quickly cleared her throat, "I don't deserve it. That kind of hope, especially from Morgan." Her throat bobbed as fought back tears with every fiber of her being. "I was such a terrible sister to her. And she knew it, yet… yet she was willing to die for me. Then-," A brief flash of anger rushed over her rosy face, and her hands balled up into tight fists in her lap, "then she actually did it. Why? Why the hell would she sacrifice herself like that!?"

My uncertain silence must've spoken volumes because Severa shook her head after a few seconds of it.

"You don't know the answer to that one, do you?"

I cringed, "To be fair, I've been making this entire thing up as I go along."

"This conversation?" Severa replied.

For some reason, a dry laugh slipped from my lips, "Pretty much everything since you all found me in Southtown."

Severa's melancholy ran away for a moment, "At least you admit it."

"Admit what?"

"You have no idea what the hell you're doing."

I shrugged, "I figured that was pretty obvious."

Severa snorted out a laugh, shook her head, then nodded her chin towards the sleeping group of Shepherds all huddled together around one column.

"They must've not noticed. I know Cynthia and Owain think you're the next great hero for them to follow. Laurent, Brady, Kjelle, and Inigo respect you for some odd reason. Noire, Nah, and Yarne are… their own strange selves; I can't even begin to figure out what goes through their heads. And Gerome is-"

"An asshole?"

Severa uttered a genuine laugh, "Yes," She nodded, "A bit of… a major nihilistic asshole." A long exhale left her lips, "And for some reason, Morgan trusted you, and Lucina trusts you."

"Comes with being in the right place at the right time, I guess. That, and I'd say kicking Grima in the balls allows me a little bit of leeway in the trust department."

Severa chuckled again, "I'm certain that's some made-up nonsense, like that Hobbit story of yours."

I feigned an offended gasp, "You doubt that the epic tale of Bilbo Baggins is a legitimate story?"

"Uh, yeah? Seems way too fantastic to be real."

"Ha!" I exclaimed, "I'll have you know that there are plenty of people where I'm from who are as short as a Hobbit. Although, I'm not sure if they have hairy feet. Never bothered looking."

"Be weird if you did."

"Oh definitely."

"And you never mentioned Hobbits have hairy feet."

My mind screeched to a halt, "Uh… what?"

Severa shrugged, "You never mentioned that Hobbits have hairy feet."

I leaned back where I sat, the back of my head pressing against the freezing stone door behind me. "Huh, well, what do you know; you _were_ listening in."

Severa's cheeks reddened a little and she rubbed her right arm. "Maybe a little. And, if you're going to continue telling that story, which I know you will, you better get your damn details straight."

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

"Write them down, of course," Severa said in a matter of fact tone.

"Ah yes, write them down. First gotta survive this craziness, then gotta survive the next round of craziness."

"Next round?"

I nodded to the door, and the temple behind us, "Whatever the hell greets us in the past. After that, maybe, I'll try to do a pale imitation of Tolkien."

For some reason, Severa chuckled along with me. What an absurd suggestion, in all honesty. Me, Samuel Wheeler, failed door to door salesman and luckiest unlucky bastard, writing _The Hobbit_ for the people of this world. I doubt I'd even remember all of the important details once I actually had time to do that. Besides, I'd also have to figure out how to write with a quill and ink, something I haven't tried doing yet, now that I think about it. Is writing with a quill like writing with a regular pen? Wait, maybe pens exist in the past? Still seems like an awful lot of work.

"I think you'd be alright at it," Severa muttered.

I blinked, "I would?"

"Y-yeah well," A frown passed over her features. A very flustered frown, "It's not like you're the worst storyteller or anything like that."

I felt a faint smile spread over my lips, "I'll take the compliment."

"You better."

Footsteps moved closer to us, and I turned my head towards them, spotting Anna swiftly moving towards us. Whatever peace, relaxation, or happiness I had evaporated when I spotted the worried expression etched on her face. As she moved to us, I heard Donnel utter a sharp hiss, waking up the other Shepherds. Happy growled nearby, and the floor shook when Minerva rumbled low.

"What's going on?" I asked Anna as I got to my feet.

Anna's jaw tightened, and she nodded to the mountain pass winding through the ruins below the Temple. Murmurs broke out among the kids, and I heard Donnel utter a sharp curse. My eyes roved over the ruins, then landed on a lone figure marching up the Temple steps. My pulse quickened as I recognized black and purple Grimleal robes, with a hood drawn over her pale skin and midnight black hair.

_Tharja._

**And chapter! A bit of a breather before we rush back into the action. Really allowed us to catch out breath, and allowed our characters to rest a moment. Gave us some interesting insight into some things I think too, especially for Donnel. Meanwhile, a traitor approaches. I wonder what she wants? You'll find out very soon.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!  
**

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	37. Fade Out

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 35

Fade Out

Have you ever felt terrified and furious at the same time? It's a strange feeling. Like a constant vibration running over my skin, an incessant annoyance that made me grit my teeth and ball my hands into fists. There are very few people in my life that elicited such a reaction from me. In fact, Tharja might be the only one. Seeing her shadowed form skulking up the steps, stopping halfway up as Anna, Donnel, and I stood above her, made hideous anger burn within me. This was the same person, the same witch that killed Gaius, who nearly killed me, and who betrayed everyone that called her friend.

Yeah, I think it's safe to say I hate her.

Donnel's breathing rattled to my right as he stood between Anna and I, his eyes glaring down at Tharja with barely held in check fury. Anna, meanwhile, was much more subdued in her reaction. She was cautious, calculating; one hand on her hip, the other loose by her side. Little did anyone else, other than me, know that the hand on her hip was palming a throwing knife hidden on her. As for me, I let my hand rest on the pommel of my kukri and did my best to hide how badly I was shaking.

_Damn fear, damn cold, damn it all._

Tharja's dark eyes roved over the three of us, then they flicked to the kids taking shelter within the Temple entry and columns. If I had to venture a guess, it seemed like she was looking for someone, but before I could ponder her actions any further she uttered a heavy sigh.

"I was half expecting to be cut down immediately."

"Take another step and you will be." Donnel snarled, his one hand tightening around his sword's grip.

Tharja sniffed in reply, "I wouldn't blame you. Cornered adversaries tend to employ desperate tactics, but killing me will not help you now."

"Maybe not, but it'd be cathartic." Anna retorted, her fingers tracing the outline of one of her throwing knives, "I've got several friends and a pet chicken to avenge."

Tharja let out a soft laugh at that, "So, Cluckers fell with your cart. How unfortunate, I rather liked that grumpy bird." Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she eyed me next, "And there is the thief that beguiled Grima. At first, I thought of you as a mere nuisance, but clearly you're not to be underestimated."

I said nothing in reply, mostly because I knew if I spoke my voice would crack. That would hardly be intimidating now, wouldn't it?

Again, Tharja let out a soft laugh, barely audible over the moaning wind. Her dark eyes refused to make eye contact with Anna and Donnel and instead continued to dark around her. One moment she would glance at the stones near her feet, the next her eyes would shoot up to the Temple, then finally she'd stare at me a moment, before restarting the routine.

"You've got five seconds to state your business, Witch," Donnel growled, taking one step down the stairs.

"Or what?" Tharja snarled back, letting a faint flash of annoyance rush over her features. To my surprise, Donnel stepped back, and Tharja inclined her chin. "That's what I thought. But I wouldn't fret if I were you, Sir Donnel, I'm…" She drew in another deep, calming breath, "I'm not here to harm any of you. I merely came to talk."

"Well, ya talked, so scram!"

"Mother?"

Donnel let out a low sigh, and Tharja's eyes widened as Noire moved down the stairs, her bow slung over her frail shoulder. Another sharp, cold wind whipped through, causing Anna's red hair to flutter around her head, and Noire to visibly shiver as she stepped around me.

The timid archer paused a step below me, Anna, and Donnel. Her chest rose and fell in heavy breaths as she looked down at her mother. Tharja, meanwhile, seemed to not be affected by Noire's sudden appearance, or the biting wind. That is, I thought she wasn't affected until I saw her dark eyes soften, filled with suppressed regret.

"Hello… child," Tharja said, her voice stiff as she swallowed hard.

Noire's shoulders fell, "Mother, what are you- w-why would you-" I noticed a faint glow from on the necklace around her neck, and Noire's usual timid demeanor was replaced by a sudden flash of intense rage. "How dare you show your face to me, traitorous wretch! What would compel you to dare to speak to any of us!? Blood and thunder!" In a flash, Noire unslung her bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at her mother's black heart, "I ought to cut you down where you stand!"

Her arrow trembled against the string, and her arms shook as she kept her deadly missile trained on Tharja. Tharja's eyes briefly widened, but other than that slight reaction, the threat from her daughter did not faze her. Instead, a small, proud smile graced her pale lips.

"I see my talisman is doing you some good." Noire sucked in a sharp breath as her mother spoke, and the glow in her necklace faded away. "You'll need it before the end, child."

Noire's arm slackened as a ragged gasp rattled from her lungs. Her chest rose and fell, and her bow lowered.

"W-why are you here?"

Another frozen wind shot through the pass, battering against the Temple and causing me to shiver where I stood. Tharja flinched at the wind, her own body shaking as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Gods damned cold." She grumbled, "You had to flee to somewhere cold. Then again, everywhere is cold now."

"Thanks to you and that damned lizard you worship," Anna growled.

Tharja scoffed, "If you think I worship that lizard, you'd be wrong." Her dark eyes flitted back and forth a moment, "He hasn't given me much reason to worship him as of late. But, as someone who has been close to him, I urge you all to surrender, please."

"Not a chance in hell." Donnel snarled.

"Oh? So you plan on dying here?" Tharja hissed as she glared at us, "You plan on laying down your lives? For what!? Do you plan on sacrificing those children, my daughter, your son, because you are too stubborn to realize when you have lost?"

"Better we die than become monsters!" I heard Brady bellow from the Temple's entryway. Noire remained eerily silent.

Tharja hung her head, "Monsters? Is that-"

"Damn it, Witch." Donnel snapped, his fists balled up so tight that his knuckles turned white, "You were at Themis, weren't you? You saw what Grima did to the people he captured, the people who surrendered! Or did you turn a blind eye to that as you betrayed us? Do the deaths of all our friends mean nothing to you?"

"They mean everything to me, which is why I'm asking you to give up!" Tharja cried. Thunder rumbled in the sky, and I could smell rain approaching, "Please see reason. You cannot win. Grima has you cornered. I barely managed to convince him to let me come here and speak to you. Please don't-"

"Oh, so you're on speaking terms with the bastard then?" Donnel growled.

"If you don't surrender now, then there will be no mercy!" Tharja exclaimed, "First Mortyla will come. I'm sure you're familiar with her now. If she doesn't break you, either Aversa or Vykrik will. You cannot possibly hope to hold out forever here in these ruins. Face it, both of you, all of you; it is over. We- you lost. Save your lives and join Grima. Rebuild the world with him, instead of dying against him."

Silence was our reply, and Tharja's shoulders fell even as harsh gasps rushed in and out of her lungs. This was not something I expected to see from her, the traitor: desperation. She really believed that if we surrendered, that if we gave ourselves willingly to Grima, he would show mercy. She also believed we were truly cornered; that we had no plan, nowhere to turn, no final move to spring on Grima.

It needs to stay that way. Grima cannot be given a single hint about what we are up to. Otherwise, he won't play with us by sending Mortyla, Vykrik, and Aversa. He'll crash against us immediately, and the time we need will be lost.

This conversation needed to end before someone slipped up.

"You cannot believe that, Mother," Noire replied, her small voice shaking as she spoke. Faint sniffling came from her, "How could you believe that?"

I glanced over to Anna. She glanced at me as well, and I saw her nod her head. She was on the same train of thought as me. I already explained to her that the kids cannot know who Grima really is, and she understood why. With how distraught Noire, Donnel, and the rest of the kids were, the last thing we needed was for them to accidentally reveal our plan, or to goad Tharja into blurting out the terrible truth. Everything in the past hinged on the present moment.

_We're done here._

Tharja opened her mouth to reply, only for one of Anna's throwing knives to soar towards her. I followed up by flinging my short dagger as hard as I could at Tharja. A sharp gasp came from Tharja, and the daggers passed through her as if they were slipping through a mirage.

"What the hell?" Donnel cried, his furious eyes glaring at Tharja's rippling form, then over to me and Anna, "What did you do that-"

"Too cowardly to come yourself, Tharja?" Anna remarked, her hand falling away from a second throwing knife, "We don't listen to traitorous cowards. This conversation is over."

Noire shook like a leaf in front of us as Tharja's shimmering form refocused. Her dark eyes closed, and a heavy breath left the traitor.

"Very well." Tharja looked at us one more time, "May Grima have mercy on you."

Like wisps of smoke on the cold wind, Tharja faded away. As the last traces of her form evaporated, Noire sank to her knees, sharp sniffles leaving her form as she shook.

"Nothing but an illusion." She whimpered, "Nothing but… is she even alive? Or is Grima toying with us again? What is-"

Anna quietly walked over to Noire and picked her up, "Don't think about it now." She told the frail girl, "Look at me. We have a job to do, a mission to complete, and a future to save. Keep your mind focused on that, okay?"

Tears shimmered in Noire's eyes, but she still nodded. Anna patted her on the shoulder, then shooed her back to the temple.

"Kjelle, Severa, Inigo, Owain; front and center!" Anna's sharp voice rang out, "Donnel, get them ready to be a front line defense. Gerome, Nah, Cynthia, you will not take flight tonight. Get Minerva and your pegasus into the temple. You three will act as a final line in case they get through us." She spun towards me, "Well Sam, looks like you'll have to be in a head-on fight after all. How long until Lucina and the ritual are ready?"

Severa, Inigo, Owain, and Kjelle brushed by me as I strode back towards the Temple entrance with Anna. As we drew near, Gerome and Cynthia ushered their mounts inside, along with Happy, before following the animals in with Nah.

"Not sure." I replied, "It's up to Naga, you know that."

Anna rolled her eyes, "Dependent on a Manakete, just my rotten luck. If it's not one, it's another."

"I thought you liked the other one."

Anna snorted, "That was a long time ago, at this point." She nodded at Cynthia and Gerome to close the temple doors. When they shut with a dull thud, Anna drew in a deep breath, "Let's hope Naga and Lucina work fast."

We both turned towards the ruins that lined the road to the Temple. At the end of the road, where it sharply turned toward Breakneck Pass, I spotted a pair of glowing red eyes set within a winged helmet glaring at us from atop a black pegasus. A tight ball lodged in my throat, and I drew my Kukri.

"Ready for this?" I asked Anna.

Anna let out a haughty laugh, "I've got nothing better to do." She drew two daggers, and below us, Donnel and the kids formed a line, "C'mon Samuel, let's save the future or die trying."

* * *

Against all odds, throughout this entire ordeal in the ruined future of this world, I have never been in a straight-up battle. I've been part of two infiltration missions, one seeking to steal an objective and the other a rescue mission. I've been in the middle of a massacre, and I've escaped an enormous siege, but I have never stood shoulder to shoulder with soldiers and stared down the enemy as they marched towards us. I have never had to endure the dread of watching a wave of monsters in black masks, their ruby eyes glaring at me with cold hunger to kill, lumber towards me with a Deadlord leading them.

Even if I was only part of the second line of our defense, and I wouldn't have to endure the initial, bone-crunching, pulse-pounding impact of steel clashing against steel; I still couldn't get rid of the terror that coursed through my veins. There is a horror to seeing a never-ending tide of Risen washing over a road, marching in perfect order behind a mounted Deadlord. It's almost indescribable, and I'm kind of impressed I haven't pissed myself yet.

My mouth felt dry as the Risen line paused a few yards from ours. Kjelle, Donnel, Severa, Inigo, and Owain stood shoulder to shoulder, weapons drawn and feet planted. As the Risen line paused, a tremendous crack of thunder ripped through the black sky.

Then the rain fell.

It was a black rain. A cold rain. The kind of rain that did nothing to nourish, or replenish, but did everything in its power to douse life and hope. Each drop that pelted against my skin felt like an icy shard piercing me. I did my best not to flinch, but when one hit the nape of my neck, I hissed and slapped my neck.

Anna snorted beside me, "Cold?"

"A little." I grumbled as I eyed the Risen line, "Why do you think they stopped?"

Anna pursed her lips, "Not sure."

Just as she finished speaking, loud cackles echoed from the Risen line. A section of Risen, two wide, separated, and a woman with a coal-like complexion sauntered over to Mortyla. Her burning eyes roved over us, then up to the ruined Temple behind us.

"Well, isn't this amusing." Aversa began, mad cackles slipping from her lips with each breath. "The Naga-spawn taking shelter in a useless, sacred place. Honestly, you all couldn't have been more predictable. I'm surprised you even got this far." Her gaze shot towards Anna, "Then again, from what I understand, you little brats had some help."

"Nice to see you too, Witch." Anna shot back, a crooked smirk crossing her lips, "How's the eternal damnation treating you?"

Aversa threw her head back and laughed, "Damnation? Survival cannot be damnation. Grima has made me greater, more powerful, and he could do the same for you. All you have to do is lay down your weapons, surrender, bow before him when he arrives, and all this pain will-"

A black arrow raced through the air and impaled itself in Aversa's right arm. The Witch jerked back, a loud hiss slipping from her lips.

"Fuck you!" I heard Noire bellow.

Ragged, enraged gasps came from Aversa. Her head whipped towards our front line, and pure hatred filled her eyes.

"Slaughter them all." She snarled.

And it began.

Mortyla raised her lance, and the Risen around her let out a chorus of snarls, shrieks, and screams. The first row of them shambled towards us, picking up speed as their rotten bodies moved. The second line followed, their movements less rickety and swifter.

Kjelle uttered a furious roar as she stamped the butt of her spear into the earth, then leveled it at the enemy, resting the shaft on a notch in her great shield. Severa gripped her blade with both hands, her eyes narrowed, face grim as she waited for the enemy to crash into us. Rain ran slick from Owain's curved blade as a grin passed over his features. Inigo stood beside Donnel, more terrified than the older Shepherd, but still unwavering in the face of such a fell surge.

A fireball hit a group of three Risen in the front line. Laurent was letting loose. Two more black arrows hissed through the air, slamming into a Risen and knocking it back. Thankfully, the entire column of fell creatures could not wash over us like a tidal wave, since the road was narrow and the ruins treacherous, but they were still many and I wondered how the hell we were going to survive this.

"Jab your blade in and out of the enemy, through the gaps." Anna whispered to me, as the Risen were mere feet from hitting our line, "We're the cleanup crew for the wreckers in front."

I nodded and inched forward with her.

With a massive slam, and a cacophony of snarls, clangs, curses, and screams, the Risen hit our front line. As soon as I noticed a sliver of a gap open up between Severa and Kjelle, I snapped my kukri through it. My arm shuddered as the tip of the blade cut a shallow gash into the closest Risen, causing it to growl and stumble. Severa finished it off, hacking its head from its shoulders with one huge cleave of her sword.

Another Risen rushed towards Severa as she recovered from her vicious strike. I drew my long dagger and jammed it past Severa's side and into the Risen's armpit. The Risen hissed, Severa twirled, slashed through its bowels, and it crumbled to ash.

"Hold firm!" Donnel bellowed, his blade flashing in and out of Risen as they slammed against us over and over again.

For a split second, I glanced over to Anna. Her daggers danced in her hands, slipping through Risen's rusted armor as they stumbled past the wrecking ball that was Kjelle. Owain and Inigo held their own on the other side of Anna, easily slashing through Risen grunts that flung themselves into their weapons.

So far, so good. How long will this last though? Unlike normal humans, Risen don't get tired. At some point, we would wear out and make fatal mistakes due to weariness. What will happen when one of us falls? There's no room, no time, to pick that person up. And god forbid if one of us is killed. Then a real crack will form in our line, and at that point, the Risen can flood towards the Temple.

_And at that point, we're all dead._

I cut into a Risen that stumbled through one of Severa's wicked slashes, my arms shuddering as my kukri bit into a rotted bone. With a sigh, the Risen sagged, then turned to ash that coated my right hand. As I spun to face the next Risen that got past Severa and Donnel, I locked eyes with a monster I didn't want to notice me.

Mortyla gripped the reins to her Pegasus as the beast stamped a hoof against the earth. The black beast spread its angelic wings wide, then took flight. I expected it to fly high, as a way of intimidating us. Instead, the Deadlord swooped low and charged directly at Donnel and Kjelle, it's lance leveled at them.

"Watch out!" I shouted at them.

Donnel didn't notice, but Kjelle did. The armored girl shoved Donnel to the side, raised her shield, and took the entirety of Mortyla's devastating strike. A loud noise, like a great bell ringing, echoed from the center of our line as the Deadlord's jagged lance crashed against Kjelle's shield. Kjelle let out a cry, and fell backward, falling flat on her back as a wince of pain washed over her face.

Two Risen surged through the gap. Anna and I dashed in to fill it. Fear sat heavy in my gut as I stood beside Anna, ready to take the Risen head-on. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Brady rush down the steps towards Kjelle as she clutched her shield arm close to her chest, her shield discarded on the ground.

_She's out for the moment. _I sidestepped a Risen's slash and jammed my long dagger into its eye. _Need to hold on._

Anna moved in front of me, filling the gap in our line herself. I dropped back into the support role once more, roving from one end of the line to the other as I picked off any Risen that leaked through.

"She's coming again!" Inigo hollered as he disarmed a Risen then ran it through.

I flicked my eyes up to the black sky and spotted Mortyla circling overhead. My heart jumped to my throat when I saw her pegasus rear back, then shoot down at us, lance pointed at Anna.

Severa noticed her too because she shuffled to the side and shouted back at me.

"Sam, my spot!"

_No time to think. Move. Fight!_

I rushed into Severa's spot and was immediately greeted with the rancid breath of a Risen getting too close for comfort. It's rusted ax swung a hideous arc at my head. I ducked, grit my teeth, and stabbed it three times with my long dagger before cutting upward with my kukri. The Risen fell back, fading to ash before it could hit the ground.

I braced myself as I expected Mortyla's to finish her dive shortly, only to notice her break off her dive as Severa moved beside Anna. Instead of Mortyla's lance hitting us, one of her pegasus's hooves smacked against Severa's head, as the Deadlord abruptly broke off its dive.

Severa staggered and fell back, dazed. At that same moment, three Risen rushed Anna, preventing her from moving to pick up Severa.

That left me to do it. I jumped out of the way of a wild swing from a Risen sword, slid to a stop next to Severa, and hauled her to her feet.

"Lying down on the job?" I asked, my voice cracking as fear ruined my attempt at a good joke.

"N-no! I- you- I was catching my breath!" Severa barked, shoving past me, swaying a moment, then falling back into me again.

"Yeah, just catching your breath. Brady!"

Brady didn't come. Instead, Yarne dashed down to us, along with Laurent. Laurent grabbed Severa, nodded at me, then pulled her up the steps as a welt formed on her head. Yarne bravely moved into Severa's spot, surprising me as his Taguel form shredded Risen with long claws and sharp teeth.

As Yarne entered the fray, Inigo yelped and hopped back. I saw a patch of blood forming on his right side, where a section of his clothes was torn. A bloody gash pulsed against his side, but he stayed standing and continued fighting.

The weariness had arrived. The mistakes were beginning. How long can we hold out?

The doors to the Temple groaned open, and Cynthia's loud voice rushed through the frigid air.

"Anna! Donnel! C'mon!"

_Thank God!_

"Ya heard Cynthia!" Donnel barked, "Inigo, Yarne, you two go first!"

"Sam, help us with the retreat!" Anna shouted.

Help with the retreat. What exactly does that mean? Am I supposed to-

_Oh God, ax!_

I jerked my head back from a rusting ax, wincing as the blade whistled too close to my throat for comfort. My kukri snapped out and cut through the Risen's wrist, chopping off the hand that held the ax. Donnel backed up with the others, and shoved his sword through the Risen's back, killing it.

"Stay focused, Samwise." Donnel said, "When I say so, turn and go to the Temple."

We cut down a couple more Risen, then a blast of wind slammed into the Risen ranks, pushing them back a few feet. Laurent must've noticed our need for an opening.

"Go!"

All of us turned and raced up the stone steps towards the Temple doors. Noire and Laurent stood near the doors. A few fireballs sailed over our heads and into the Risen ranks from Laurent, while Noire was using the last of her arrows to pelt the Risen ranks and slow them down further. I skipped steps as I raced up them, trying to get to the safety of the temple hall as fast as I could. I reached the top step and saw Donnel and Owain rush past me into the temple. Laurent and Noire followed them in, but both continued firing into the Risen behind us. That is, until Laurent's eyes widened, and he ducked behind the open door.

_What is-_

Intense heat washed over my back. Anna uttered a loud cry, and a mighty boom hit my ears. Weightlessness washed over me, and my stomach lurched from my gut up to my throat, then back down again as I flew through the air. A couple of seconds later, I slammed into the ground in the Temple Hall. A burning sensation flooded my back as I lay on my stomach, coughing hard from the impact. I heard a second body hit the ground beside me, scramble to their feet, then fall back down for a moment, while I lay still on the ground, pain washing over my back. Tiny bits of stone and dirt fell around me, and I heard the Temple doors groan as the others rushed to close them.

My eyes cracked open. Through my blurry vision, I spotted Owain and Severa slashing through some Risen that managed to slip into the Temple before Donnel, Kjelle, Brady, and Gerome could close the doors.

A great, scaly beast roared. My heart initially jumped to my throat, until I realized it was Gerome's Wyvern, Minerva, entering the fray. Her scaly tail whipped out and took the heads off of a group of four Risen that rushed through the barely open doors. Her massive jaws snapped into their bodies after that, destroying them. A group of five more Risen slipped through the door, then they finally closed with a heavy thud.

"Kjelle, Gerome, help me brace it!" Donnel cried.

I started to push myself to my feet, my mind still in a daze. More burning pain washed over my back and shoulders, all the way up to my neck. I winced, and hissed, but forced myself to my hands and knees. My head swam as I pawed the ground, searching for my kukri. When I found it, I grasped the handle clumsily, and finally pushed myself to my feet as Severa finished off the last Risen.

"That does it!" Severa twirled towards the altar at the far end of the hall, where Lucina stood within a green magic circle spread out on the floor. "Lucina, how long!?"

"I'm hurrying!" Lucina shouted back.

"Kids, get closer to her," Donnel ordered as he and Kjelle finished bracing the door with some heavy wood beams.

I shook my head, stumbled a couple of steps, and blinked as my mind slowly sharpened. I felt something hot and sticky against my back, and on my forehead. Blood, no doubt. But is it mine, and if so, how much of it? Can't bother to look now. No time, need to-

_Wait… _I watched as the kids, and Donnel moved back from the Temple doors. The doors jostled as the Risen slammed against it, trying to force them open. And in the scrambling mess of Shepherds, I failed to see-

"Fuck…"

My senses instantly sharpened when I heard that word come out as a weak wheeze nearby. Dread filled me, making my fingers tremble. I didn't want to turn around, but I did.

Anna's face had gone ghost white as she stumbled back against a cracked pillar. She hit the stone pillar hard, her eyes squeezing shut as pain washed over her features. Then she slid down the pillar, and a streak of blood followed her down. That was when I noticed the enormous shard of stone jutting through her back and out the right side of her chest.

I didn't say anything, I just scrambled towards her as she came to a seat against the pillar. Shrieks, screams, thunder, and bangs echoed all around me; all of them coming from outside the Temple as the Risen tried to break in. But I didn't care about that. I slid to a stop beside Anna, crouching down beside her as she gave me a look that appeared both exhausted and terrified.

Sharp, panic-filled breaths left my lungs.

"B-Brady!"

No reply. I heard stone crack and felt a fresh, cold wind whip into the Temple. The Risen must have broken through the stone doors. Alarmed yells came from the other Shepherds, and a bowstring sang a couple more times.

"Lucina!" Severa shouted.

"Almost there!"

My heart hammered in my chest. "Alright," I moved to pick up Anna, but her hand reached out and stopped me, leaving me puzzled for a moment, "Anna?"

A thin trail of blood bubbled from her lips as more color drained from her face.

"You've gotta get going, Samuel." She wheezed.

A pit formed in my gut, "No, _we_ gotta get going." I replied, my voice shaking, "Fate's changing, Anna. You're making it with me and-"

A small shake of her head cut me off, "You're gonna… have to go alone now." Her throat bobbed as she struggled to get air. Blood dripped from her wound in dark, scarlet ribbons, and pooled around her as tears misted in her eyes. "Damn, I-I didn't think... should've gone for the boat."

A dry, hoarse sound left my lips. I wasn't sure if it was a laugh or a sob. For some reason I found myself grasping Anna's hand. When I did, I saw a faint smile cross Anna's pale lips, the blood trickling from them looking like red-ink stains on a sheet of paper. With her other hand, she shakily grabbed the brooch pinned to her chest and placed it in my other hand.

"You're a good kid, Sam." She breathed, her voice faint, "You… won't… let me down. I know…"

The light left her red eyes, and her hand went limp in mine.

I froze there, waiting for more words. She wasn't done talking. She had more to say, but no more words would come. I wanted to croak out her name; an attempt to maybe reach her before she left. But it was too late.

Tears streamed down my face, and I hunched over her hand as I grasped it, not even hearing the doors give way, or Donnel bellow for the kids to get behind him. My other hand squeezed the gold and ruby dragon brooch tight, to the point where I thought the dull, round edges were biting into my skin.

Risen screamed and shrieked as they surged into the Temple Hall. Hooves clopped against the stones nearby, and I heard some of the kids cry "Deadlord". Donnel shouted the same thing before his cry was cut short by a loud, pain-filled howl.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Someone please, take me away from all this. Take me away from this nightmare! Someone please get rid of the Risen, the Deadlord, all the misery. Put me back home. Or, even better, put me back at the start of this insanity, just so I could do more to save the lives of my friends.

A sudden rush of wind erupted through the temple, coming from the Dragon's Table. Bright, emerald light washed over me, causing me to finally look away from Anna and towards the altar. A portal made of blue and green light formed in front of the table. Once it materialized, Lucina drew Falchion, donned the blue butterfly mask, and shouted for all of us to get into the portal.

A hand hooked my right arm and yanked on me hard enough to tear me from Anna. Her hand fell from my grasp, and the hand that grabbed me spun me around.

"Run, Samwise!" Donnel cried, his other arm wrapped around his waist as blood pooled around it. "Don't let her die in vain!"

Was it his sharp orders that spurred me forward, or the fear thick inside of me, I don't know. All I know is that after Donnel shouted in my ear, I dashed for the portal. Up ahead, I saw Cynthia and her pegasus, Happy, Nah, Owain, and Laurent pass through the portal first. Noire jumped in after them, the blue and green light rippling like water with each body going through. Yarne, Gerome, and Inigo rushed through next, with Minerva roaring as she spread her wings and zipped through the portal.

Now the portal looked strange. The blue and green light flashed like a strobe light, making the entire spell look completely unstable.

As Donnel and I drew near; Severa, Lucina, Brady, and Kjelle engaged Risen that dashed for the gate. Falchion glowed bright, blue flames licking the blade, as it cut through the Risen with ease, slaying the grunts almost instantly.

When we reached them, Donnel shoved Brady and Kjelle through the portal, perhaps knowing they wouldn't go without fussing about him. A loud cry left Brady's lips, which was abruptly cut off when he disappeared into the blue and green portal light.

"Severa, Lucina, Sam, go!" Donnel cried, grasping a Risen's sword and spinning around to face the coming swarm, led by Mortyla.

"Sir Don-"

"Go, Princess!" Donnel bellowed, before charging at the Risen.

I watched as Donnel hacked and slashed at the Risen, barely flinching as enemy blades nicked and slashed into him. I could see Severa and Lucina wanted to join him, but knew they could not. However, they weren't moving into the portal either.

I gripped Lucina's thin arm.

"Sorry about this," I muttered, before throwing her with all my strength through the portal.

Her sharp cry echoed for a moment, drawing Severa's attention.

"Sam what-"

I didn't give Severa a chance to finish. I grabbed her by the waist and tackled her through the portal. Pain washed over me as I felt a spell collide against the Dragon's Table right as we jumped through the portal.

All sound became warped. Any sight shifted into a multitude of colors. As if I was passing through a tunnel made of rainbow starlight. The further I shot through the tunnel, the lighter I felt. It felt like something was tearing at my being. Pulling it apart then putting it back together again as I drew near a bright, white light at the end of the tunnel.

My fingertips brushed against the bright light, and warmth flooded my outstretched hand. The warmth became an intense heat, and the dark shadows surrounding the white light turned into a night sky. Wind howled by my ears and head as I went into free fall through warm air. A loud cry left my lips. I saw a dark, sandy ground growing beneath me, and I squeezed my eyes shut. My body tensed as I braced for impact.

I felt the briefest sensation of my left shoulder impacting against loose sand before everything went black.

**And chapter! It's my birthday, and this is my gift to all of you: an early, and extra, update (don't worry, we'll still get one on Tuesday too)! **

**And talk about a huge chapter took. This is it folks, the end of what you could call Part 1 of Rigged from the Start. Sam made it, but at a cost. He's lost his best friend, and is now in the past. It's going to be interesting to see where this story goes from here. I've got some big plans, and some wild ones too. I'm excited to share this ride with you all! Next up is Interlude 3, a little wrap up to this huge part of the story. See you all Tuesday!**

**Come join the Treehouse! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast_! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We talk about fanfiction, writing fanfiction and original fiction, and other nonsense that sounds fun to discuss. You can find the podcast on Spotify, and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	38. Interlude III: Another Life

Rigged from the Start

Interlude 3

Another Life

**Tharja**

Each step I took through the ruins, and along the road that led to Mount Prism's Temple, was filled with fear, anxiety, and caution. Risen stood all around me, along the road and within the ruins. They stood dormant, unmoving save for the brief gust of frozen wind that made them sway where they stood. Quite the chilling sight to walk through. It doesn't matter how long I've been among them, I will never feel comfortable around them. I've seen them slaughter too many people, seen them rip apart too many old friends.

I shivered as another frozen wind whipped through the mountain pass. Gods, it is colder up here than further back on Breakneck Pass. Then again, the lack of sun would make things colder.

Gravel and icy dirt crunched beneath my feet as I neared the temple steps. They were a familiar sight now since I saw them through a very advanced scrying spell I used to try and speak to the Shepherds. My meager attempt at trying to get them to surrender.

It failed… I failed, and now they were likely all dead within the Temple. Mortyla and Aversa would have shown no mercy to them, and for some reason, that hurt even more than knowing they were dead. If I had been the one leading the attack though, would I have been any more compassionate? Would I have shown mercy, and allowed them to surrender once they were beaten into submission?

No, that's a foolish thing to ponder. I know Anna and Donnel. I know those children, especially my own daughter. They would have never surrendered. They would have rather died clinging to their ideals and naive concept of life than bend the knee to Grima. Even when they knew it was over, even when they were backed into a corner, without anywhere to run, the Shepherds stood and fought.

The evidence of their battle now became plain to see as I noticed piles of black ash from fallen Risen littering the road and Temple steps I walked on. I could see the scorch marks and blasted out craters in the earth where devastating spells impacted. Little Laurent had grown so much, but unfortunately, not enough. Although I'm sure in the afterlife, his parents were proud of him. They would all be proud of their children for standing against Grima to the bitter end.

Such a notion did puzzle me. Who would be proud of their child throwing their life away? I do not see pride in such an action. All I see is stubbornness, ignorance, and selfishness. Why couldn't the children, why couldn't Anna and Donnel, see Grima's vision? Why did they have to sacrifice themselves for a cause with no hope? It boggled my mind.

A heavy breath left my lips as I reached the top of the Temple steps. There, I spotted the first evidence of Aversa's potent magic. The fell magic she used lingered in the air around a large crater in the top few steps. Sharp shards of stone, blackened by unholy fire, littered the area around the Temple doors.

_I wonder who fell to this one. _I closed my eyes and took a calming breath. _I will find out soon enough._

My hand brushed over the broken stone door in front of me. Rock chipped away as my hand pressed against it, showing just how brittle it had become due to the Risen's vicious assault. The children would not have lasted long within the Temple. The Risen, Grima's horde, was an unstoppable force, and nothing short of a miracle would have saved them from their wrath.

Did I secretly hope for a miracle? I'm not sure. What I do know, is that there is no such thing as miracles, not anymore. Miracles belonged to Naga, and she had abandoned this world long ago. If the death of her own child did not stir her, then it was clear Naga cared not for this plane of existence.

I steeled myself for what lay beyond the broken doors. I shouldn't be feeling this dread. I shouldn't be feeling anything regarding the Shepherds, or the children. They chose their fate, and their fate ended in death. I could not change their minds, no matter how hard I tried. It was their foolishness that caused this, not my actions.

So why do I feel so much guilt?

Why does my heart feel so heavy? Do I fear seeing their bodies? Am I really that attached to all of them despite everything that has happened, and the path that I chose to follow?

Then again, one is my flesh and blood, as much as she would probably like to deny it. It is only natural for a mother to grieve when confronted with the sight of her dead daughter. Such an occurrence is a disruption of the natural order of things. The mother is supposed to pass before the daughter, so that life may continue with the young. Yes, that is why I feel dread and pain. It is not guilt. It is biology.

With that meager comfort in my mind, I pushed my way into the Temple.

The interior of the temple was nothing but ruins. The dried-out corpses of vines snaked along the many pillars and the stone floors. Piles of ash littered the ground where Risen were slain. There was a key thing missing. Something that made me freeze in the doorway, and caused me to whip my gaze around the Temple hall.

There was a distinct lack of corpses. There should have been more than a dozen of them here. Instead, I saw two.

Anna rested against a pillar near the door, a blackened shard of stone jutting out of her chest. Her head was slumped forward, and a small pool of blood had formed beneath her. Seeing her made my throat tighten. If there was one Shepherd who did not give a damn about my inclinations, or my origins, it was Anna. She did not care that I was Grimleal, or that I did arguably unethical things to other people. The only thing that mattered to her was if I had the coin to pay for the stuff I'd buy from her. A purely business relationship. Somehow, that was the most enjoyable relationship I had within the Shepherds, beyond my occasional trysts with Henry.

I tore my gaze away from her cold corpse, and back to the center of the hall, where I saw a mangled, torn up, bloody mess of a body that was missing a hand. At least two dozen piles of ash littered the stones around him.

My eyes closed at the sight. Donnel did not deserve such a fate. He did not deserve to be torn to pieces like this. I only prayed that he died quickly and that most of the damage occurred after he was gone.

Manic chuckles tore me from my silent sorrow, and my eyes rose to see Aversa lounging on the cracked, broken remains of the Dragon's Table. She flashed me a hideous smile as she uncrossed her legs and hopped up from the table. Mortyla stood in silent vigil as Aversa spread her arms out and gave me an exaggerated bow.

"Welcome to the end, Little Tharja." She raised her body upright, her blazing eyes glowing with delight. "Welcome to the final refuge of the Naga-spawn and the remnants of their futile attempt to stop our Master."

I remained silent and looked around for a moment. My brow knitted as I failed to see any more corpses, and that caused confusion to replace the trepidation and sorrow I previously had.

"I don't see any more bodies."

Aversa's broad grin wavered, "Yes, well… perhaps there was a complication."

I gave her a curious look, "Complication?"

A hiss came from Mortyla, and I saw Aversa tremble at the noise. It seems Grima's newest pet struck fear into the Witch. How interesting. Perhaps they've already had a confrontation over this exact topic.

"From what I understand, they somehow opened a portal and passed through it." Aversa reached for the dragon's table and grabbed a partially charred book from it, "This is all that's left of it."

I snatched the book from her hands and glanced at the blackened cover. I could make out faint greens within all the burns, as well as the symbol of Naga etched into the binding, but that did little to tell me what this tome did.

What exactly is this thing anyway? I thought about opening the book but then thought better of it. Spellbooks are dangerous things, and if one does not exercise great caution in opening one, there could be dire consequences. That is likely why Aversa hasn't investigated the tome further as well.

"It reeks of Naga-spawn magic," Aversa growled.

"That it does." I set the book down on the broken table, "This entire place is filled to the brim with it."

Aversa sniffed at that, "The last elements of a bygone age. It will fade, and Grima will encompass all, as was destined from the beginning."

I eyed Aversa carefully as she sauntered away from the table towards Donnel's corpse. She grimaced a little as she looked down at his mangle, mutilated body.

"I wonder where those brats escaped to?" The toe of Aversa's boot nudged Donnel's body with a wet squelch, making me scowl. "Do you think they used a mass warp spell to escape? Hm… if so, then why did they abandon this poor sod."

She kicked Donnel's body over, and I flinched. A mistake on my part. Aversa always enjoyed making me squirm.

"Oh, poor little Tharja." She stepped back from Donnel's body, her gaze never leaving me as she stepped backward toward Anna's untouched corpse. "Uncomfortable with toying with the aftermath? I thought you were a dark mage with a heart as black as coal." She turned to face Anna's body, "Perhaps you are far more attached to these fools than you want to believe?"

My eyes narrowed at Aversa as she nudged Anna's limp leg with her boot.

"I believe the dead should be left alone." I replied, my voice still, but still sharp as a knife, "Especially these two. They've earned as much."

"Earned?" Aversa scoffed, "They've earned nothing except scorn and mockery. After all, these two were fools, along with the rest of the Shepherds. And fools earn nothing with their deaths." A wicked sneer passed over her features as she saw my own gaze darken, "Perhaps I should demonstrate?"

A small fireball formed in her hand, and my fist balled up at my sides.

"Leave Anna alone, Aversa."

"Oh? You still call her by her name, how _touching_."

She pressed the fireball to Aversa's chest, and something within me snapped. As the putrid stench of charring flesh hit my nose, I drew my spellbook and conjured forth the most powerful spell I had in my arsenal. A lightning spell that would shake the Temple's very foundations.

Thoron erupted to life in my grasp, pulsating with barely restrained power. Mortyla's winged head whipped towards me at the sudden surge of power building up around me, but I did not care what the Deadlord thought. It is one thing to celebrate a victory over an enemy, but another to desecrate the fallen.

"Why Little Tharja, you've gone quiet. Perhaps you are-" Aversa froze when she saw the spell in my hand, and a snarl washed over her features, "You are quite the hypocrite, aren't you?"

I stood up a little taller.

"Yes."

Thoron arced across the room, impaling Aversa before she could react. The Witch let out a loud shriek as the white-hot bolt of lightning shot through her black heart, then cooked her from the inside out. After a couple of seconds, the bolt faded, and Aversa's charred, smoking corpse fell to the floor with a hard thud.

A wave of lightheadedness hit me as the spell wore off. I staggered back a step, bumping into the broken Dragon's Table. A ragged gasp rattled in and out of my lungs, and I struggled to stay standing. Still, a sense of immense satisfaction came over me as I glanced at Aversa's burnt out body; smoke tendrils rising up from her corpse as she lay like a burnt-out husk beside Anna.

Yes… I am a hypocrite. If you asked me if I would be willing to desecrate a body before I joined the Shepherds, I would have done so without hesitation. That sort of work happened often within the Grimleal. But when you surround yourself with people of such high character like the Shepherds, their misguided morality rubs off on you.

_Maybe that is why I feel the way I do. It is not biology, it is guilt._

After all, I don't have the excuse of Noire's death to explain the ache in my heart anymore.

Slow clapping echoed through the Temple Hall, and my blood ran cold. All the satisfaction I felt evaporated, replaced by terror. My gaze trembled to the door.

Grima stood there, hands clapping together as he sauntered into the Temple. His red eyes glowed with delight as he glanced at me, then over to Aversa's burnt-out husk. A faint chuckle came from him, interrupting his mocking applause.

"I was wondering when you would finally do that." The monster wearing my old friend's skin stated, a sinister grin passing over his face. "Honestly, you possess far more patience than I did when it came to her. Really the only thing that kept from killing her myself was the brown-nosing." He rolled his shoulders a little as he stepped through the hall. "There is a certain amount of ego-boosting I appreciated whenever she did that."

I trembled where I stood, incapable of moving as Grima approached. His red eyes flicked around, briefly paused on Anna and Donnel's bodies, before stepping by them and moving towards me.

"Where are the others?" He asked, the triumphant, amused grin on his lips fading as he eyed the broken Dragon's Table.

For some reason, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Grima leaked overwhelming power as he moved past me and looked at the book resting atop the broken table. His brow furrowed, and he picked it up, turning it over in his hands a moment as he studied the charred cover. I saw his lips move, and a brief flash of light came from the book as he dispelled whatever protections it had.

Grima's pale fingers pried the book open. Within the pages were a magical formula that even I could not comprehend. It was so intricate, requiring at the very least some sort of blood to work. But whose blood? Why would such a book-

"Naga, you sly bitch." Grima growled.

A pulse of dark magic erupted from his form, and with a roar, he flung the book with all his might across the room. I flinched when the book slammed against a pillar, and shivered where I stood as Grima sucked in deep, enraged breaths.

"How?" He seethed as he began pacing next to the table. "How could she have done this? Who could have given her such an idea? No one-" He froze mid-step, as his back was turned to me. "The wild card..."

He reached into his coat and withdrew a small, crumpled up note. Something that he found when we located Anna's destroyed cart at the bottom of Breakneck Canyon. I paid such a find no mind, but when he opened the letter and silently read it, I noticed the thief's name written in Anna's handwriting on it.

My eyes widened, "That thief did this?"

"Who else could it have been?" Grima breathed, his rage dissipating into a strange amalgamation of fascination and simmering fury. "No tome like that existed before his appearance. And now, all of a sudden, Naga is able to send multiple people back in time."

My jaw fell open.

_Naga did what!?_

Shock filled me. Naga sent the children back in time. She performed a last-second miracle, and in doing so, snatched victory right from Grima's open jaws. By doing so, she made it so that the children could try and prevent the events of this time from even occurring.

_Sly indeed._

The guilt I felt still sat heavily within me as I realized something terrible. I could have helped them. I could have fought with them, and helped all of them make it to the past. I could have made sure Anna and Donnel lived to guide the children through those tumultuous times before Grima's rise. But instead, I chose the coward's path. I chose the path of survival, and now that I slew Aversa in front of Grima, I believe I have forfeited said survival.

Quiet, insane chuckles tore me from my thoughts. I glanced sidelong at Grima and watched him laugh as he moved to the book and picked it up.

"A well-played move, Naga." He said, his sinister voice echoing through the ruined Temple. "But you made a fatal error." He opened the book again. "You left me the blueprint."

He snapped his fingers. Before I could blink, Mortyla's lance flashed in front of me.

Pain erupted through my abdomen. A burning pain unlike any I had ever felt before. It consumed every thought, every sensation, and made me utter a loud screech. Sudden weakness slammed into me, and I felt my body sag as Mortyla's lance kept me from slumping to the ground.

Shallow, harsh breathes rattled in and out of my lungs. I glanced down at the lance buried through my body, then I raised my trembling, blurry gaze up to Grima as he walked up to me.

"Oh, Tharja, I do wish things could have been different." Naga's book glowed purple as fell magic raced through it. "But this spell requires blood and, sadly, you're the only one with any." A disappointed click came from him. "A shame you killed Aversa in a fit of rage. All over a dead Shepherd too, perhaps you really weren't as devoted as I thought. Oh well… at least you can give me your life, in the end."

Tears bubbled in my eyes, and I fell to my knees, all the strength evaporating from my body. My blood dripped down from my body like a small, red river, staining the dirty marble altar red. Fell magic surged towards the blood as Mortyla's lance left my body, and I sagged on my knees.

I could feel raw, unhinged power erupt in the temple. Could hear Grima reciting some sort of incantation. His voice rose until it sounded like he was uttering a pain-filled shriek. Lighting bolts arced from the book, then from an enormous purple and red light that erupted behind me. I managed to work up enough strength to look back and see a portal open up on the broken table.

My gaze shivered to Grima, and I saw something that stunned me. He looked weak, drained, like he poured every ounce of power into the spell. But there was a sickening smile on his blanched face. His now hollow, sunken eyes, like those on a mummified corpse, flicked to me, and horror gripped me.

"Why stay in one time when I can destroy another?" A dry, wheezing laugh left his lips. "Thank you, Naga! Now I will never be bored!" He turned back to me. "And thank you, Tharja. Without you, this would not have been possible."

_What have I done? _I found myself unable to speak as I watched Grima step towards the portal. _Why did I stay by him? Why did I leave the ones who actually cared for me?_

"Farewell, Tharja." Grima said, "You were… a useful servant."

He stepped through the portal. The red and purple light shimmered then evaporated as he faded from existence.

The magical energy within the Temple died, and I was left with no sound other than the hisses of Mortyla's breath in my ear. More strength faded from my body, and tears rushed down my cheeks with it.

"Mortyla," I croaked, and I heard armor shift beside me, "If the old you is still in there, end me. Please, just do it."

For a split second, I thought she ignored me. Condemned me to suffer a slow and painful death as I bled out like a stuck pig. To be fair, it is what I deserved. And if the woman that Mortyla once still existed within that shell of black armor, I would not blame her one bit for leaving me to suffer.

Steel slid against steel as I heard a sword come free from its sheath. A heavy breath left my lungs, and I looked out over the Temple hall once again. My eyes lingered on Donnel and Anna's bodies, then went out to the ruins beyond the doors, where I saw something I thought would never return to this world.

Sunlight.

Tears blurred my vision, and I heard Mortyla raise her sword. With the final rays of bright, golden sunlight implanted in my mind, I bowed my head and heard the whistle of steel rushing down to my neck.

_Thank you._

* * *

**Mustafa**

The desert was curiously cold this evening. A chilled wind swept over the mighty dunes within the vast wastes to the north of Doluna, which is where I was stationed with a meager contingent of my army. Not that I actually needed many soldiers for the task given to me, but I still much preferred having all my resources available to me, rather than the limited options a small task force gave me.

However, the King's orders were final. I am to move into the Northern Wastes, and deal with gangs of bandits terrorizing the Oasis Villages that dotted the sandy, dry sea. At least myself and the men in my company were allowed to traverse such barren landscapes with some measure of comfort. A strong tent served as my shelter this evening, shielding my bedroll, my hearth, and a small, portable desk I bought from one of the Secret Sellers many years ago.

I sat at that desk, one hand stroking my thick, dark beard as I eyed some documents strewn across it. A quill and inkwell rested on the corner of my desk, and I reached for them.

Some of these papers were requisition orders. Not for myself or my men, we had all the supplies we needed for this little foray. The bandit gangs have wreaked havoc on the Oasis Villages, leaving them without much of their food and livestock. The lack of such necessities is a death sentence in this harsh land, which is why I was filling out a supply order for more food. To the bureaucrats in Doluna, it would look like my men simply ate all their food. In reality, we would be distributing that extra food to the populace. While I disliked such underhanded measures, this was the only way I could guarantee such emergency supplies for the unfortunate populace.

_Gotta love politics trying to get in the way of good deeds._

A knock sounded on the post near my tent's entry, and I raised my heavy, dark gaze. A young officer with cropped black hair, a short dark beard, and sharp, dark eyes entered. His light armor jingled over his lean form as he stepped inside of my tent, one hand resting lazily on the hilt of his Kopis.

"Captain Raad," I grunted, pushing myself back from the documents in front of me as my young second-in-command entered.

The boy bowed at the waist, and I motioned for him to take a seat across the desk from me. His sharp eyes flicked over the documents littering the desk, and he hummed as he sat.

"Playing politics, General?" He asked, a slight smirk on his lips.

I sniffed at that, "As much as I despise it, yes. The people here need food, and only the army gets priority when it comes to that."

Captain Raad shrugged, "Understandable."

I raised one of my heavy brows, making the young captain shift in his seat.

"I mean, for us to supply the raided villages. It is understandable."

I hummed low, and shifted some papers over in to make room for two glasses I kept in a small container by my desk.

"Good correction," I muttered, setting the two crystal glasses down, then grabbing the bottle of Feroxi Firewine I kept hidden in the same container that held the glasses. "Wine?"

"Have I ever turned down a drink with you, sir?"

"It would be a first if you did." I rumbled over the trickling of wine pouring into the glasses.

Captain Raad cracked a pearly smirk at that, "Well, that won't happen tonight. I think you like me because I share these quiet evenings with you, sir."

"I like you because you're competent," I remarked dryly as I finished pouring. Once I set the bottle back into its container behind my desk, I grabbed my glass and raised it. Captain Raad mirrored my movements. "Still, I do appreciate you not reporting our drinking habits."

With that, we took a sip. The strong liquor burned its way down my throat, but I hardly flinched. Feroxi firewine may be potent, but it was nothing compared to the liquor made at the distilleries within the Plegian badlands around Doluna. However, I appreciated the flavor of the Firewine more. The Feroxi may be descendants of brutes and barbarians, but they were civilized where it counted.

As I set my glass down, I leaned forward in my seat, resting my forearms on the desk.

"What brings you here tonight, Captain?"

Captain Raad shrugged, "Usual report. Bandits are still using the damned desert to their advantage. Search parties had to call off their pursuit due to a sudden sandstorm that brewed as we drew near the bastards."

I frowned at that, "I'm starting to think the rash of sandstorms we are seeing are not a coincidence."

I was pleased to see the young Captain nod his head in agreement. Yes, the boy was competent. Ambitious, and a bit too eager, but such things will be tempered with time and experience. So long as he listened to me while he was under my wing, he would learn, then he would make a fine General.

"How many mages do you suspect?" He asked.

I knitted my brow as I thought for a moment, "Magic is not my expertise. I can't know for certain."

Captain Raad grimaced at that, "You know what that likely means then?"

A heavy sigh left my lips, and I leaned back in my seat again. Before I replied, I took a large gulp from my glass. Grima knows I needed it for what I was about to say.

"I'll have to send a message back to Doluna and request a Grimleal adviser."

Saying that tasted like venom on my tongue. Requesting help from the Grimleal never ended well, in my opinion. Those dark mages did nothing but sour morale and intimidate the populace. The less I needed them, the better. But if there are mages in the bandit gang's company, we will need at least one Grimleal to assist us.

"That's going to be fun." Captain Raad said, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

"Isn't it always?" I ran a hand over my eyes and blew out an alcohol-laced breath, "What of the two soldiers that went missing two days ago? Any sign of them?"

Captain Raad's face turned grim, and he shook his head, "Nothing sir. I have a feeling that either the desert has consumed them, or the bandits have taken them." He pursed his lips as he swirled the Firewine in his glass. "I'll continue to have search parties sent out for them, but I don't have much hope anymore."

I drew in a deep breath and reached into a different container for more sheets of paper. A grimace remained etched on my face as I neatly stacked the papers, then started scratching ink over them with my quill.

"Letters to the families?" Captain Raad inquired.

I paused in my writing, and nodded, "Just in case."

I started to scribble the date, then heard a low sigh come from the Captain.

"Can you believe we'll be hitting quadruple digits soon?"

A let out an exasperated breath at that, giving the smirking captain a weary look.

"That is still a year away."

"The villagers around the countryside say that such a number is an ill omen." Captain Raad continued, not picking up that I did not wish to discuss rumors and superstition. "And the Grimleal, of course, believe it's a good omen."

"Omens, rumors, prophecies, superstitions; a bunch of nonsense used by people who don't know better, or think they know better." I leveled my weary gaze at the Captain. "You come from a noble family, so maybe you put stock in such things, but I do not."

Captain Raad inclined in his chin, a curious expression crossing his features. "What do you put your stock in, if I may be so bold to ask?"

I returned my attention to the letters I needed to write, the soft notes of my quill scratching along the paper lingering in the air as I pondered his question for a moment.

"I put stock in the things I can immediately control," I grunted, as I dipped my quill into the inkwell, then started writing again. "I trust what I see in front of me, and my ax. I suggest you start doing the same."

It was hard to miss the perplexed look on Captain Raad's face. It betrayed his youth and inexperience. He may have been a swift riser through the army's ranks, thanks to his sharp intelligence and noble origins, but he was still green as an officer. However, that did not mean he deserved ridicule. Such a bright mind needed guidance; shepherding along, rather than put-downs. Unfortunately, few of my colleagues operated by the same philosophy. Hopefully that will change in the future.

I set my quill in the inkwell again and leaned against the table, steepling my fingers in front of me.

"Rumors and conjecture can do only one thing well: cause strife. If the commander indulges that strife, then the commander indulges discord and chaos. He encourages chaos and suspicion within the ranks, and thus the army is broken without ever having to meet the enemy."

A pleased sensation washed through me when I saw understanding dawn on Captain Raad's features.

"And a broken army is something an enemy will take complete advantage of." He finished for me.

"Precisely." I reached for my quill once more, and started writing the first letter, "You're a chief officer, Aziz."

The young captain's brow rose as I didn't use his formal title. He was still picking up on some of my ticks. One of those being that if I was trying to instill an important lesson, I would attempt to make it as informal as possible. Formality breeds boredom and creates distance between the teacher and the student. If I am to leave a positive mark on this young man, such a barrier needed come down when teaching a lesson as important as this.

"The condition of the army, both physically and mentally, falls on you and you alone. If you do not have your head on straight, then the men under your command certainly will not. Never forget that."

"Yes, General Mustafa."

_Ah, a retreat to the more formal nature our conversation began in. _I flicked my eyes down to the letters. _My new captain is still uncomfortable in this role._

Another knock sounded on the post at the tent entrance. My brow furrowed. I was not expecting any more visitors. The only reason someone would disturb me in the night was if there was something important I needed to be aware of. But what could possibly be so important right now? Our search parties were accounted for and within our camp. The nearby Oasis Village was secure, and the bandit gang would be suicidal to try and raid it now. Perhaps there is a message arriving for me from Doluna?

"General?" A young footsoldier poked his head in. "Sir, you need to see this."

_Not news or a letter? _I rose from my seat, along with Captain Raad. His confusion seemed to match mine as we strode to the tent's exit.

Once we left the tent, we were greeted by one of the most chaotic scenes I have ever seen outside of a battlefield. Camels groaned and cried out from where they were tied up. The two Wyverns in my small company were snarling and gnashing their teeth. Their tails whipped wildly around them, kicking up sand and causing their handlers to scramble as they tried to calm the beasts down.

"Get those Wyverns under control!" Captain Raad barked as I scanned the camp, listening to the alarmed cries of my men as a bright white light pierced the night sky.

The earth shook as the light appeared, making the sands shift beneath my feet. My eyes widened, stunned, as the light formed into an eye-shaped disc. The surface of the eye of light rippled, and a lone figure fell out of it, plummeting down to the ground just outside of the camp's edge. After the figure fell from the sky, the eye wavered, crackled with out of control power, then winked out of existence. The rumbling in the earth faded as the night returned to it's quiet, calm state.

Captain Raad glanced at me, "You were saying about omens and superstitions?"

I grunted, not gracing his playful jab with a reply. Wordlessly, I marched towards the edge of the camp, where the figure fell from the sky. My right hand stayed near the ax on my hip as I trudged through the sand. I could hear the soft footfalls of several of my men, and Captain Raad, following me.

When we reached the edge of camp, I spotted the figure passed out in the sand. A girl with striking red hair. Dirt and grime covered her pale skin and her tattered leather outfit. A sword sat loose in her right hand, half-buried in the sand. Honestly, she was lucky she didn't impale herself on it when she fell.

Captain Raad moved up beside me, his brow raised as he looked down at the unconscious girl.

"So… is this a good or bad omen?"

I frowned, "Pick her up and get her to the medical tent. When she wakes, we'll find out."

Two of my men moved to follow my orders, grasping the girl by her arms and legs, and hauling her into our camp. My dark eyes followed them as they shuffled towards the small medical tent. More of my soldiers gathered to witness what happened, and I frowned.

"Alright, all of you, back to whatever the hell you were doing. It's late. Sleep well, we have more work to do tomorrow." I looked to Captain Raad, "Make sure the girl is kept under guard."

"Yes, General." He moved towards the medical tent, paused, and glanced back around, "So, she's a bad omen?"

"Captain…"

"Right, right. Put her under guard, on it General." The Captain laughed, then he left me.

I watched my men haul the girl into the medical tent, then watched Captain Raad follow them in. Seems like he will personally watch over her. Good, he knows the men need rest. Yes, he will be a good officer, so long as he gets rid of those silly superstitions he grew up with.

Although, after witnessing the strange light in the sky, I also found myself wondering: was it a good or bad omen?

**And chapter! Consider this the Epilogue to Part 1 of Rigged from the Start! We now know what happened to the last surviving first generation Shepherd (ironic that she was the one to make it the longest, eh?), and we also know where Severa wound up. That is one of the first curveballs I have in mind for this story. I wonder where Sam wound up? That's going to add even more fun to this entire situation. I'm excited to get into the next phase of this story!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this story! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Also, come check out the Fanfiction Treehouse discord server! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**AAAAAAND, come give the ****_Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast_**** a listen! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We talk about fanfiction, fire emblem, writing fanfiction and regular fiction, and other general nonsense. You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	39. Unbound

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 36

Unbound

What is this, the fourth time waking up after being knocked unconscious by blunt force trauma to the head? Or is it the third time? Fifth? Doesn't matter, I still hurt. My head's pounding, my throat is dry, there is a stabbing pain in my shoulder, and an unending, burning ache through my entire back.

Yup, gotta love life or death situations. God, I could sleep forever right now. However, both my brain, and my will to live, denied that, so my eyes cracked open.

For some reason, there wasn't any sky over my head. There was a rocky ceiling over my head instead; partially hidden behind iron bars that looked rusted. My brow furrowed in confusion, and I ran my hands along the cold, rocky floor beneath me. A wince crossed my face when I shifted, sharp rocks scraping along my wounded back. I sucked in a deep breath, exhaled, and forced myself to sit up; fighting through whatever aches and pains tried to keep me down.

"Hey, you."

_Who's talking? _I blinked the blurriness from my vision. Faint torchlight flickered out of the corner of my vision, but I did not see anyone near me.

"Finally awake?"

_Why does this sound familiar?_

I ran one shaky hand over my eyes; wiping sweat, grime, and dirt from them, before blinking again and glancing in the voice's direction.

Two men sat within a cage to my right. One of the men sat silently in the far corner of their cage, legs tucked close to his chest as he rested his head on his knees. I couldn't see much else through the deep shadows, but I could see he was older, due to the sprinkling of white hairs in a dark goatee on his chin.

The second man, the one who was speaking to me, knelt closer to me. Well, as close as our cages would let us get. Right away, I could see this guy was a warrior of some sort. He wore beat up, leather armor that had more than a few scuffs and tears in the torso. His tanned face had an ugly gash along the right cheek, some of it obscured by his neatly trimmed beard. One of his dark, heavy eyes was bruised and sealed closed. He looked like he had been through as much hell as me. Which of course, gave me more than a small flash of panic.

_Did I not make it?_

"You were trying to get to the Oasis Village too, eh?" The man continued, "Walked right into that bandit ambush, same as us."

_Bandit ambush? Oasis Village? What is this guy going on about?_

None of what the man said made any sense. The last thing I remembered was jumping through the time portal, falling out of it, and hitting the ground. Then… then…

_Did I sleepwalk my way into a bandit attack? Wait… bandit attack…_

"It worked?" I muttered, my eyes widening.

The man raised his brow, "You meant to get caught in a bandit ambush?"

"Holy shit, it worked." I gasped, as I whipped my head around. A big mistake, because my vision immediately blurred, my head swam, and I felt like I had to vomit. A long groan left my lips, and I slumped onto my right elbow, doing my best to keep myself propped up.

"They must've given you quite the hard hit to your head, my friend." The man commented as he leaned against the bars of his cage. "Either that or the desert heat already had you addled."

I shook my head, but a lot slower this time. I'm not interested in throwing up what little food I have in my gut right now. God, I don't even know how long I've been out for. For that matter, where the hell am I?

"Um… sorry, just…" _How do I explain my situation without saying anything?_ "I'm a bit lost."

The second man in the cage next to me snorted, "Clearly."

I scowled over at him, and the first man waved off my annoyance.

"Pay Nader no mind. He's still sour about our situation." The man slipped his right hand through the bars, "Name's Morteza. You are?"

I winced as I reached for his hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Samwise."

Morteza cocked a dark eyebrow, "Samwise? You aren't from Plegia, are you?"

I snorted at that, "Why the hell would I be from Plegia?"

Morteza drew his hand back into his cage, and shrugged, "First reasonable guess since that's where we are. My next guess was that you're a traveler of some sort but..."

His voice faded in my mind as my thoughts came to a screeching halt. His lips moved, but I did not hear anything. Instead, my brain went from mildly confused, to instantly afraid. My mouth felt even drier, and my heart thumped in my chest.

Plegia? I'm in Plegia? No, that can't be right. This has to be some sort of mistake. Maybe this guy was crazy? Yes, he had to be crazy. I mean, Plegia isn't in a cave, right? This cave, with these cages, could be anywhere. What does this guy know?

"Samwise, my friend, you look unwell?"

I swallowed hard, "Do I look like I'd be doing well?"

A good-natured chuckle came from Morteza, "Frankly, no. You must've put up one hell of a fight against those bandits if you're in such a state."

I drew in a deep breath, "Apparently?"

Okay, we need to think now. What is our situation, and how do we get out of it, or improve it? We can deal with this whole Plegia detail later. Right now, I'm in a cage. That is the last place I need to be. Whatever bandits Morteza mentioned probably found me and decided to take me, for some odd reason. Maybe they plan to use me for slave labor, or sell me as a slave somewhere, or maybe I'm some simple entertainment for them on a long, lonesome night?

_Less thinking about bad things. Focus on the situation._

I'm in a cage. I flicked my eyes around and noticed a door made out of iron bars and hinges across from me. Wordlessly, I scurried over to the door, trying my best not to wince and groan as the wounds across my body throbbed. When I reached the door, I grasped the iron bars and gave it several sharp tugs. It didn't budge.

"That's no use, my friend," Morteza said, his voice a tad despondent as he watched my futile efforts. "Nader and I have already exhausted all ideas as to how to get out of here." A wry laugh left his lips. "For Grima's sake, we even tried sawing through the bars with a rock."

"Broke the rock in the process," Nader grumbled across the cage.

"Yeah, we broke the rock. But anyways-"

I gave the iron door another harsh tug, then glanced at the hinges. Gaius's brief lessons on petty thievery and breaking into places raced through my mind as I analyzed the crude design. A quiet curse slipped from my lips.

_We aren't breaking those pins anytime soon. Not without leverage._

"We did try to use another rock, but it wasn't sharp enough," Morteza mumbled, as one hand stroked his beard.

"I doubt any rock would be sharp enough." Nader huffed.

"Would you quit being a grumbling Grimleal?"

"It's called being a realist. And I am not one of those freaks."

I clenched my teeth, irritated, "Any useful contributions from you two would be appreciated."

The two bickering men fell silent for a moment, and I uttered a long-suffering sigh.

_Good, maybe they'll shut up so I can think._

"We didn't get the chance to try your rocks," Morteza said with a sarcastic laugh.

A loud groan came from Nader, and I had half a mind to join him in his exasperation. Morteza simply laughed as I glared sidelong at him.

"Apologies, Samwise, but I must keep spirits up somehow." He uttered a heavy sigh. "I'd rather not think about what lies in store for us."

"Slavery." Nader's dry voice said. "Death. Slavery _and_ death. A two for one special."

"Ha! Our fellow prisoner would like that one." Morteza guffawed.

I drew back from the cage door.

_Fellow prisoner? There's another prisoner?_

I turned my head towards the bars opposite the cave's rocky wall in my cage. What I saw made my heart lurch and my stomach drop. At least a dozen cages rested in this cage, almost all of them unoccupied. In fact, the only cages with anyone in them were mine, Morteza and Nader's, and the two cages nestled in the opposite corners of the room from us. All the cages were too small for any grown adult, which explained why I had to stay hunched over as I moved around it.

_Focus, Sam. Focus._

Multiple prisoners, multiple cages; that means at least one guard was here at all times. Someone has to keep an eye on all these people. Maybe I'll get more information if I get the guard's attention?

"Morteza."

"Yes, my friend?"

"Who's the scumbag in charge of guarding us?"

Morteza furrowed his heavy brow, "Depends on the day. Mondays it's Goz."

"Tuesdays it's Mez." Nader followed up, his sullen voice barely audible in the cold, damp cave.

"Wednesdays it's Goz and Mez."

"Couple idiots, those two are." Nader grumbled, "Even worse when they're together."

"That, they are." Morteza agreed.

"Couple of idiots, eh?" I drew in a deep breath. What I was about to do was either going to go well, or terribly. "I can work with that, I think?" I cleared my throat, "Hey, Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum!"

Silence replied to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw both Nader and Morteza's jaws drop. I rolled my eyes, and cupped my cracked, scraped up hands around my mouth.

"Dumb and Dumber! Hey! Who the fuck is in charge here!?"

Heavy armor jangled. The clanking of metal echoed through the cave as heavy footsteps shuffled through the rows of cages towards mine. Stepping out of the shadows and into the faint torchlight nearby, was the biggest human I have ever seen in my life. Oh, and he looked like quite the idiot. His egg-shaped head was bald, save for a small tuft of brown hair protruding up from the top of his scalp. His enormous belly jiggled beneath the chainmail he wore. One of his massive, meaty hands grasped a club with several iron spikes jutting out of the top. A makeshift mace from the looks of things. It dragged along the ground behind him, and the spikes scraped against the rocky floor with an ear-piercing noise.

"Small man, be quiet." The behemoth rumbled, his voice making my rib cage rattle as he got close to the bars of my cage.

My eyes went wide as I looked him up and down, my head almost tilting all the way back as I stared up at his dark, beady eyes.

_Hello Ugly._

My throat bobbed, "Noted."

His beady eyes glared at me for a moment longer. Then, with a low grunt, the behemoth turned and trudged away from my cage. He briefly paused next to another cage where a woman hid in the shadows in the far corner of the cage, then continued towards whatever exit existed in this cave.

Morteza tapped on the bars of his cage, drawing my attention again. When I glanced over at him, I saw the biggest shit-eating grin I had seen on anyone in a long time.

"I think Mez likes you."

* * *

I wasn't sure how much time passed since I woke up. It could have been a couple of hours, an entire day, maybe only a few minutes. Who knows? All I know is that after Mez ordered me to shut up, and I did; Morteza and Nader fell silent too. That meant I was completely alone with my thoughts. My mind was a place I did not want to end up in because that meant it would wander to what happened.

I sat in the middle of my cell, unable to lean up against the walls of my cage due to the wounds covering my back. The constant burning pain and ache that lingered from the many scrapes and gashes kept me awake, which only made my mind wander further. My thoughts delved into the darkness of my last days in the future. What I recalled made my heart ache.

I made it, the kids made it, but Anna did not. My stomach lurched as a knot formed in my throat, making it hard to breathe. I drew in a deep breath through my nose as I struggled to keep my composure. The last thing I needed right now was to break down. Breaking down would distract me. It would leave me rattled and out of focus. I needed my thoughts to be completely focused on escaping this place.

But boredom makes it impossible to keep the mind concentrated on one thing, so I saw Anna's face in my mind again. Instead of the knowing smirk she often wore, or the exasperated expression she often gave me, I saw her pale complexion and the blood dribbling from her lips as she drew her last breaths. I saw the stone shard jutting out of her chest, and her blood staining her clothes and the pillar behind her. I felt her hand in mine, trembling like a freshly fallen leaf in the fall. And I felt her brooch grasped tight in my-

My heart jumped to my throat, and all the breath was stolen from my body.

_Where's the brooch?_

I pawed at my clothes, hands running over my empty pockets. When I didn't feel the familiar shape of the circular brooch in my pockets, anger and sorrow erupted in me.

_It has to be here! _I twisted where I sat, looking around my little cage., hoping that it fell out of my grasp when I was placed in this cell, _Where is it?_

I surged to my feet and smacked my head against the bars that made up the roof of my cage. A sharp crack rang out, and I uttered a loud howl. My entire body fell to the ground as my arms wrapped around the top of my head.

"God damn! Fucking cage! God, that hurts like hell!"

A low whistle came from the cage next to mine, and I turned my head over to see Morteza nodding. As I glared at him, he did not say a word. Instead, his onyx eyes darted towards the rest of the cave, then back to me.

_What?_

Heavy, lumbering steps hit my ears, and another curse slipped from my lips.

"Little man, be quiet." Mez rumbled, beady eyes glowering down at me.

"Mez!" A sharper, nasally voice snapped, drawing Mez's attention. As the behemoth of a man turned, I caught sight of his companion, Goz.

He was a thin reed of man. Wiry arms protruded from a bone cuirass like a pair of straws from soda cans. His entire outfit looked ill-fitting, with his armor hanging loose on his bony shoulders, his pants much too tight, and his boots looking like clown shoes compared to the rest of his small form. Big, brown eyes bugged at me from inside sunken sockets, making his entire face look sickly. Of course, the very visible acne did little to help Goz look healthy. Yet, out of all those characteristics, none of them attracted my attention more than the set of keys dangling from Goz's too tight belt.

_And that is Ugly Number Two._

Goz swatted Mez's meaty shoulder, causing the fat on Mez's right arm to jiggle.

"What'd I tell you about mingling with the meat?"

"Meat?" I parroted. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Morteza shake his head rapidly. An attempt to shut me up, probably. Unfortunately for him, I've been taught by two of the greatest smart asses the world will ever know, and they passed their chatterbox traits on to me. "Excuse me, but don't you know it's rude to refer to someone-"

"Say another word Meat Bag and I'll cut your tongue out!" Goz snapped, his eyes widening to an impossible degree as he seethed at me.

I frowned and folded my arms, "Mez, do you mind giving us some privacy?"

"Mez don't you- Mez!"

Mez lumbered away, surprising both me and Goz.

"Idiot lout," Goz growled.

I clicked my tongue, "That's no way to talk about a friend."

Goz whirled around to me, drawing a familiar kukri as he spun. He brandished the blade at me, no doubt intending to intimidate me. Unfortunately for him, I recognized the kukri as mine, and I was more interested in figuring out how to get it back rather than feigning terror.

"Not. Another. Word." Goz threatened.

I pressed my lips into a thin line. At the edge of my sight, I saw Mez disappear down what appeared to be a dimly lit corridor at the end of the cavern I was imprisoned in. That was my way out of this mess. Now I needed to get out of this cage. I glanced at Goz's hip again, my eyes darting to the keys then back up to the rest of the ill-looking man.

He was thinner than me, which meant I likely had the strength advantage. On top of that, from the way he held my kukri (much too tight, by the way. His knuckles were white as he squeezed the life out of the grip) he was clearly not well trained with weapons. A typical bandit from a typical fantasy story. Fodder for the protagonist to dispose of on his way to the main story. Only, in this case, I was the protagonist that needed to deal with this piece of scum in order to get back on track.

_He thinks he's powerful because of a set of keys and a weapon. _I thought, _And he's got a temper. _A smug smirk passed over my lips as Goz turned his back to me. _I know just what to do._

"Word," I said, drawing out the last sound of the word to an agonizing degree.

A sharp, annoyed sound came from Goz. In a flash, he spun around and charged at my cage. Meanwhile, I inched my way to the door as well. Waiting for my enraged jailor to reach it.

He reached for the door, which was his first mistake. My right hand shot out and snatched his wrist, yanking him close to the bars.

His second mistake was not calling for help when he could. Then again, I didn't give him much time. With my left hand, I reached through the bars, gripped Goz by the back of his head, and slammed his forehead as hard as I could against the metal bars.

Goz's eyes rolled, but he remained standing. So, just in case one blow wasn't enough, I slammed his head against the bars again. This time I heard a dull crunch, followed by a low groan as Goz finally slumped to the ground.

I blinked as I looked down at his limp body.

"Well, that was easy."

I reached through the bars, stretched my arm out as far as I could, and snagged the keyring from Goz's belt. I furrowed my brow as I glanced at the different keys strung along the metal ring.

_Now, which one would it be?_

"Goz?"

A curse slipped from my lips as I heard Mez lumbering back towards my cage. Frantically, I searched for some way to hide the fact that I knocked out his partner. But there was nothing I could do, other than huff and wait for the behemoth to come avenge his comrade.

"Samwise!"

My gaze whipped over to the cage next to mine, and I saw Morteza holding his hand through his bars.

"Keys, here!" He pleaded, "I've seen the used enough times to know which is which. Besides, it'll be a bit fun confusing the big lug about how they got over here."

Part of me wanted to deliberate whether giving Morteza the keys was a good idea. For all I know, he's only going to break himself and Nader out, then leave me to rot in my cage. After all, it is much easier to escape prison with fewer people than with a large group. But this was a split-second decision, and I knew I could not take Mez in a straight-up fight within tight quarters like this. I had no room to zip around the big idiot, and if one of his fists hit me, I'd be finished. Confusing the enemy was the best option.

So without a word, I tossed the keys through the bars of my cage and over to Morteza. He snatched them from the air, flashed me a smile, and scrambled across his cell over to Nader right as Mez lumbered near our cages.

"Goz?" The behemoth stepped over to Goz's unconscious body and nudged him with the end of his big club. "No nap on job. Boss get mad."

A low moan came from Goz, but beyond that, he did not stir. Mez's beady eyes narrowed as he looked down at his companion, and noticed a large welt forming on his forehead. Somehow, the simpleton's pea-sized brain put the pieces of the puzzle together, and his snarling face whipped to me.

"You hurt Goz!"

I shrugged where I sat, trying my best to look relaxed; even though I was freaking out on the inside, "Did I?"

"Goz lying next to cage. Goz hurt. You hurt him." Mez's ugly lips curled into a vicious snarl, "I hurt you!"

"Now, now, Mez." I shot to my feet, raising a hand and making him hesitate as he reached down to Goz's body for the keys, "There's a problem. I couldn't have hurt Goz. If I hurt Goz, I would have taken the keys."

"Goz has-" Mez blinked, and one of his meaty hands patted Goz's bare belt, "Keys gone."

A sharp whistle came from Morteza. Both my eyes, and Mez's, turned to Morteza's cage, where I saw Morteza dangling the keys from a fingertip.

"Now how in God's name did they get over there?" I wondered out loud, a smug smirk passing over my face, "Any ideas Mez?"

"You gave them."

My eyes widened and I sucked in a sharp breath, lips puckering like I just ate a fresh lemon.

_He's smarter than he looks._

"Mez deal with you after dealing with soldiers."

My brain raced, and a quick thought emerged, "But how will you get to those soldiers?" I asked, "You don't have keys."

Now that appeared to be a very complex question for the big guy. His beady eyes narrowed and his hairless brow furrowed as he thought hard.

"I go get keys."

My jaw fell open as I watched the massive guard lumber over to Morteza's cage. The big guy sucked in a deep breath, then yelled with the loudest voice I have ever heard in my life.

"Give me the keys!"

I winced as Mez's booming voice echoed off of the cavern walls.

"I'm afraid, in order to do that, you'll have to step back five paces," Morteza replied with a nonchalant shrug.

_There is no way this is going to work._

Mez stepped back exactly five steps, making my eyes widen.

"Now turn around, my friend." Morteza continued, "You'll hear metal clang when the keys are out of the cage."

Mez's beady eyes narrowed. I could practically see smoke coming from the large man's tiny ears as his tiny brain processed Morteza's orders. Again, I doubted this would work. Why would it? Either Mez would ignore Morteza, and Morteza would have to scramble to open his cage in order to escape with Nader. Or Goz would wake up and knock Mez upside the head for nearly falling for our ploy.

And again, Mez's stupidity left me dumbfounded. The behemoth turned around, club scraping along the ground as he spun to look over the rest of the cavern.

"Thank you, my friend."

The keys jangled as Morteza reached through the bars of his cage and turned the lock. A heavy thunk rang out when the door to his cage unlocked. Both Morteza and Nader slipped out, right as Mez turned to face the cage again. Before Mez could do anything, the two men pounced.

Morteza snapped his left leg out and swept Mez's feet out from under him. Our enormous jailor uttered an alarmed cry as he fell hard to the ground. Before Mez could recover, Nader was on top of him. The quick, quiet man delivered three swift strikes to Mez's face. On the third strike, Mez went limp, and Nader's fist came away bloody.

"He won't be waking up anytime soon." Mortez breathed. He turned to my cage, and I held my breath, "One second, Samwise."

He whispered in Nader's ear. With a nod, his quiet companion scampered across the cages towards the lone exit. Once there, Nader pressed his back to the cavern wall and peered around the corner into the corridor beyond the exit.

_Keeping watch. _I thought, _Good idea. There's no way all of the commotion went unnoticed._

I moved towards my cage's door along with Morteza. My new friend leafed through the various keys, dark eyes, and tanned fingers probing over each one on the ring before settling on one near the end of the line of keys. As he jammed the key into the lock and gave it a harsh turn, his dark eyes studied me, and a flash of concern came over his face.

"Good Grima, you look even worse up close."

I snorted, "I've felt worse, trust me."

Morteza's concern remained as he opened my cage door, "I have a hard time believing that, but I can't do anything for your wounds now, unfortunately."

He waved for me to follow. Quickly, I stepped out of the cage, pausing for a moment next to Goz's still unconscious form. With a snarl, I snatched my kukri from the ground beside him, then gave him a firm kick in the kidney with my boot.

"Mine," I growled.

An amused laugh came from Morteza, "Stole your weapons when they found you?"

"Yup," I replied.

"The same happened to us." Morteza replied with a shrug, "Although, the army will give us new weapons once we're free from this place." He flicked his eyes over to Nader, who was motioning for us to hurry up. "We need to move."

I took a step to follow him, then froze. My green eyes roved over the various cages in the shadowy cavern, landing on the other two occupied cages. In one cage, I spotted another man, half-starved and looking quite mad, off in the far corner from me. He didn't even react to me, Morteza, and Nader moving around. Apparently, he was driven completely insane by his situation. All the frail-looking wretch did was rock back and forth where he sat, one hand clawing at his stringy black hair, the other hand clenched between a set of rotten teeth.

My gaze then turned to the other cage in the opposite corner of the room, where I spotted a lean figure rise to their feet and move from the shadows. Before I could get a good look at them, Morteza hissed at me.

"Samwise, we must go!"

I drew in a deep breath, "Free the others too."

"Samwise we-"

"Mez called you two soldiers right?" I continued, causing guilt to pass over Morteza's features, "Unlock those two. Then it's up to them whether they want to follow or not."

Morteza pressed his lips into a thin line, huffed, and nodded.

"Appealing to a Plegian's honor. Damn you, Samwise."

"Plegians have honor?" I smirked back.

"This time we do, luckily for you and the lady in this cage."

Lady? I was not aware one of our fellow prisoners was a girl. Then again, I guess bandits wouldn't care about the gender of whoever they captured and sold into slavery. So long as they looked remotely valuable, they were okay with taking them. A deep scowl washed over my face at such a thought. Now I really couldn't wait to get out of this place.

The door to the woman's cage groaned open with a loud creak. Nader winced by his perch but kept his eyes focused on the corridor, where I saw torchlight beginning to flicker from the other end.

"My lady," Morteza executed a low bow, "You're free to-"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get out of here before we have to fight our way out."

That voice… that voice…

Her voice.

Stepping out of the shadows of her cage and into the dim torchlight was a woman I recognized instantly, even if she was a few years younger. Her striking red hair was pulled back in a tight, high ponytail. She carried her lean form with the same confidence I was used to, even though she had just been freed from captivity. It was as if the dismal nature of our previous situation failed to faze her, which was exactly like the woman I knew in the future. Her outfit was different, no longer a mess of beat up, dull leathers, but instead a colorful motley outfit; akin to a jester's. Seeing all this made a ball form in my throat, and I had to fight the tears threatening to form in my eyes.

_Anna…_

Her red eyes darted towards me, and I quickly averted my gaze.

"You're armed?" Anna asked me, one brow rising with disbelief, "You sure as hell don't look like you can swing that… whatever the hell that is."

A quiet laugh left my lips, "It's a kukri, and it's one of a kind. And yes, I can swing it, because it is mine." I glanced over at the corridor, and saw the torchlight wash over the shadows, "Hide!"

Me, Morteza, and Anna all joined Nader as we pressed our bodies against the cavern walls near the exit. I held my breath, waiting for the sound of footsteps to draw closer. Within seconds, I heard boots clomping against the rocky ground. A pair of them, from the sounds of things. Although, the echo might be tricking me. Still, I must be prepared to fight two or more bandits. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Voice filtered in the hall. A pair of men, talking in loud, annoyed tones. I heard the names "Goz" and "Mez" said in irritated tones, and assumed these two were coming to investigate the commotion we made escaping. Now that I knew for certain the men approaching were enemies, I tightened my grip on my kukri, shouldered past Morteza, and waited.

A split second later, the first bandit emerged. He was a bulky man; musclebound, with a leather shirt torn at the sleeves so his massive arms could be seen by everyone. Not like those muscles did him much good though. Arm muscles do little for someone when a kukri slashes their throat.

The musclebound bandit uttered a gurgling sound and dropped to his knees. Before he could hit the floor, I spun around to face his companion. When I saw no one directly in front of me, I furrowed my brow, puzzled. Then I saw a lithe woman, wearing light armor and a helmet that obscured her head, sitting at the end of the corridor, one arrow nocked on a bowstring.

"Well, fuck me."

The arrow soared towards me, and I waited for it to pierce my heart. Right before it could reach me, a strong hand snagged me by the back of my ruined shirt and yanked me out of the arrow's way.

I almost fell backward as I staggered into Nader and Morteza. The two Plegians gave me a nod, one I returned.

Now my mind raced. Dealing with a lone archer shouldn't be that big of a deal. The problem was that the archer was at the end of a narrow corridor. There is not exactly much room to dodge arrows in such a tight space. If the archer was halfway skilled then I'd be a pincushion in minutes if I tried to take her down. So how could I approach-

Anna dashed out from her hiding spot, sprinting into the corridor, and making my jaw drop. Apparently, I wasn't alone in my shock, because Morteza let out an alarmed sound.

"Miss, you probably shouldn't do that!"

Anna didn't reply. I braced myself against the cavern wall and watched an arrow zipped through the corridor exit and into an empty cage. It was quickly followed by two more arrows. A sharp crack rang out through the corridor, and the flurry of arrows firing down the hall ended.

All three of us poked our heads around the corner. Anna's hands relaxed and fell away from the archer's head, allowing the dead bandit to slump to the ground, her neck broken. Without any hesitation, Anna shouldered the bandit archer's quiver of arrows and bow. She frowned as she ran a hand along the bow, plucked the bowstring, then shrugged.

"It'll do." She muttered before glancing at me, Morteza, and Nader's dumbstruck faces. "You three coming, or am I leaving you behind? Believe me, one way is easier on me than the other."

She didn't have to tell me twice. I moved out of our hiding spot in the cavern towards her. Morteza and Nader were right behind me. I briefly glanced over my shoulder to them and saw that Morteza had grabbed the first bandit's weapon, an iron ax. Nader, meanwhile, flexed his already bruised and bloodied fists.

_He's already armed. _I thought with a bit of a snicker to myself.

Anna gripped her new bow in her left hand and turned to the three of us.

"Fair warning; if any of you slow me down, I will not hesitate to leave you behind." She marched into the next corridor in the cave system, "I've got other things to worry about besides your lives."

"I think I've already established that I'm capable of taking care of myself," I replied, creeping along after her as she darted through the dimly lit corridor.

Anna snorted indignantly, "Yeah, you took down an unsuspecting simpleton with a sneak attack. Congratulations, I've seen ten year old street rats do the same." She paused near an intersection, glanced around the corner, then rushed into the next corridor. "Just be glad you ran into me, otherwise you might not have made it home."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Morteza cut in, "I have a feeling our new friend here is rather resourceful. If not for him, you wouldn't have been set free."

"Which is why I'm even bothering to bring you three along," Anna replied, her voice quick and quiet. She paused at the end of the corridor we were in, next to a new opening which led into another cavern. A cavern with bright sunlight at the end of it. "Consider it payback for getting me out of that cage. I would've done it eventually, but you three managed to do the hard work for me."

She peered out into the next cavern again, and this time my eyes followed her gaze.

This had to be where the bandits made camp. I could see the smoldering remains of a trio of bonfires within the enormous cavern. Thin wisps of smoke swirled up into the shadowy ceiling high above us. A sign that they have not been doused for long. That little detail alone had me on edge because that meant the rest of the bandits were not far away. Even if the majority of them were not present in the cave, that did not mean they were gone. Maybe they were out of the cave gathering water from some source that I did not know about. Or perhaps they were off on a raid and had left recently. Regardless, it was best if we were careful, and I got the sense Anna felt the same way, judging by how carefully she was studying the cavern.

A light gasp left her lips, and any hesitation she had was gone. Anna dashed across the cave, towards a very familiar, canvas topped cart. A horse I was unfamiliar with stood next to it though. It wasn't Emm. Instead, it was a shaggy, brown horse with an unkempt mane and white socks above its hooves. Judging by how lovingly Anna ran her hand along its muzzle though, I knew that had to be her horse.

Morteza, Nader, and I rushed after Anna, with me tripping over a bedroll that lay crumpled up next to one of the smoldering campfires. Once I recovered from the small trip, I drew near Anna's cart and saw her jump up into the back. A loud curse erupted from the cart as soon as she jumped inside, and as quickly as she jumped into it, she hopped back out, face red with anger.

"Damned bandit fuckers." She stormed up to her horse, hooked it up to the cart, then marched into the driver's seat. "Stole all of my shit. I hope they rot in hell." She sucked in a deep breath, blew it out, then glanced down at my dumbfounded face. "You getting in with those other two or not?"

I blinked, "Uh, right, um-" I nearly moved to sit down beside her, then thought better of it. This is not the Anna I know from the future. This Anna is from the past, or- er- present. For all I know, this might not even be the same Anna I know. She did mention having siblings when I knew her in the future- past- uh…

_I'm confusing myself now._

I huffed and hopped into the back of the cart. As I got inside, I felt the adrenaline that had been pumping through my veins since this whole escape began to ebb away, replaced by sharp pain stabbing all over my body. My eyes squeezed shut as I sagged to a seat near the back of the mostly empty cart. When I opened them again, I saw Morteza reaching for a waterskin in the back. Three more waterskins lay with the one he grabbed, which caused some relief to fill me. At least we have water, and food should be easy to find in the past, right?

Morteza took a long drink from the waterskin then passed it to Nader. As Nader took several deep gulps, Morteza turned to me.

"Lucky for us the rest of the gang was out doing whatever foul deeds they like to do, right?"

I uttered a ragged breath as exhaustion hit me like an enormous wave, "Right."

Anna hissed a sharp command from her perch at the front of the cart. With one big lurch, the cart rumbled forward, quickly picking up speed as she urged her loyal horse to a full gallop. Within seconds, the deep shadows and hard stone of the caves disappeared, replaced by brilliant sunlight and hot sand. I heard a couple of alarmed cries come from the caves behind us when we barreled out of them. My exhausted gaze glanced out the back of the cart to see two bandit sentries jumping from their seats at the cave mouth, but not fast enough. Within moments, they became small dots on the horizon as Anna spurred her cart faster through the desert sands.

_Wait… desert sand…_

My eyes widened and I looked out the back of the cart again, eyes scanning the growing horizon.

An endless sea of dunes and sand spread out around me. It looked like something straight out the Sahara Desert… or Tatooine. A desolate, barren landscape with not a hint of water, shade, or even life. Just heat, and sand.

A knot formed in my gut, and I sank further back in my seat. The pain in my wounds was growing worse with each jostle and rumble of Anna's cart, but I blocked it out as best as I could. After all, I had more important things to worry about.

_I'm in Plegia. _I thought, grimly swallowing as that reality sank in. _When I wished to wind up somewhere warm upon arriving in the past, this is not what I had in mind._

My eyes squeezed shut again, and my worries lingered even as my consciousness threatened to give out due to exhaustion and pain. I flicked my eyes up to the canvass ceiling, and a dry laugh escaped my lips.

_Naga's got a sense of humor._

**And chapter! Let part 2 of Rigged from the Start begin! Yes, Sam has wound up in Plegia, which is probably going to go as well as you'd expect. Or maybe, it'll defy your expectations. You'll have to find out as we go along now, won't ya. I promise I've got some fun stuff in store for this part of the story. Shenanigans, action, intrigue, the whole bit, it's going to be a blast! I can't wait!**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Come check out the Fanfiction Treehouse discord! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast!_ Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We chat about Fanfiction, writing fanfiction and regular fiction, fire emblem, and other nonsense that we feel like talking about for that particular episode. Recently we've begun a series of episodes focused on Worldbuilding, so that's gonna be fun! You can find the podcast on Spotify and Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	40. Wrong Side of Heaven

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 37

Wrong Side of Heaven

Day two… or is it three? Four? Week one? Whatever; day number _something_ of my trip to the past via a portal conjured by a divine dragon who may or may not be a goddess, and to sum things up so far: I hurt. Everything hurts, except for my feet, surprisingly enough. I guess that's a factor of not having to walk a far distance this time.

A quiet snort slipped from my cracked lips as my head nodded on my shoulders to the rhythm of the cart's trundling. The memory of arriving in Ylisse from my old world passed through my mind, vanishing as fast as the snort that left my lungs.

_How the hell did that hurt less than now? _I wondered as I winced and sat up a little taller in the back of Anna's cart, _The first time a Risen ax decided to try and take a chunk out of me._

My eyes flicked out the back of the cart and towards the tracks in the sand left by Anna's little horse and the cart's wheels. So far, we've traveled for what felt like a day or two through the immense Plegian desert. During that time, I had picked up precious little information about where I was or what time it was. Of course, I could've simply asked questions, but then I'd look more insane than I already do. Besides, I'm in Plegia. The absolute last thing I need to be doing is raising the suspicions of two Plegian soldiers regarding my identity, origins, and companions.

And that's exactly who I was traveling with, two Plegian soldiers. Morteza (the more friendly one with the broad, playful smile and a devious twinkle in his brown eyes) told both me and Anna that he and Nader (the one with the dour expression and sharp sarcasm) were scouts in the Plegian army. They were part of an army group camped out near one of the various Oasis Villages dotting the Northern Wastes. The Plegian Crown tasked them with rooting out and disposing of the bandits whose camp we had just escaped.

Funny how coincidences work. However, I wished the coincidence would've worked a bit more in my favor. Something easy to work with for once. Instead of winding up in Plegia after passing through the portal, why couldn't I have ended up near Southtown? At least then I would know what the hell I had to do.

As it stands right now, I'm at the mercy of my new traveling companions. The desert is vast and I would die of thirst within a day if I tried to make the trek to civilization on my own. Also, I can barely move due to my injuries, so that doesn't help matters. I wasn't panicking though. It's not like I haven't been in this exact scenario before.

_It's honestly a bit scary how used to being wounded to the point of immobility I've become. _I mused, my eyes glancing out the back of the cart again and spotting the blazing Plegian sun beginning to touch the western horizon. _Scary's probably not the best word. More like disturbing._

The cart drew to a stop at the crest of a massive sand dune. As it came to a stop, I heard Anna's horse snort, and I heard her mutter something indecipherable. Her head poked through the canvas at the front of the cart.

"We're stopping for the night." She said as she climbed into the cart and took a seat near the front.

Morteza raised a dark eyebrow, "Do you think we are far enough from the bandit encampment?"

Anna shrugged, "We've been going non-stop for a couple days now- pass the water."

Nader tossed Anna one of our three water skins, the only one with any water left in it. Right now, that lone waterskin was our most precious object. Without that water, we would all die of thirst in the desert.

Hell, without medical treatment soon, I might die from wounds. The sharp pains I've been feeling this entire time grew worse by the hour, and I was finding it more and more difficult to have the energy to even sit upright.

Speaking of sitting upright, since when did the world go sideways?

"Shit, Samwise." I heard Morteza grunt as I lay on my side, a low groan slipping from my lips.

I felt a freezing hand press against my forehead. I don't think Morteza's hand was supposed to be freezing, given that we've been traveling in a blazing hot desert for a couple of days now. So that must mean I'm the hot one. A fever? If so, that's a bad sign for me. Medieval Fantasy Fun Time Land lacked the usual illness treatments, beyond healing magic and a vulnerary.

_Once again, I wish I had a Tylenol._

"Anna-" Morteza's voice sounded muffled as he adjusted me onto my back. A hiss of pain shot from me as the hot floorboards of Anna's cart pressed against the many gashes back there. "Sorry, my friend. Anna, are you sure we're near some sort of help?"

"I don't know. I'm following your directions for where your General may or may not be." Anna replied, far more relaxed than I would have hoped for.

Then again, she is not the person I knew in the future. The Anna I knew in the future could be cold and ruthless, but she did care, especially for the people she knew. This Anna does not know me, so why should she care if I lived or died. Would she rather I lived? Maybe; otherwise, she wouldn't have driven her cart so hard through the desert these past few days. But would she cry about my death? I doubted it.

"Samwise, can you say something?" Morteza's distant voice asked me, as my vision started to blur, "Nader, get outside and see if you can find anything."

"And what exactly do you expect me to find ou-"

"Get out there and look around, you grumpy bastard!"

The cart jostled beneath me, and I caught a glimpse of Nader's blurry form stepping out into the fading light beyond the cart's shelter. As he left, the jostling in the cart didn't affect me much. My body felt like it was going numb. My throat, despite the decent amount of water I was able to get, felt parched and scratchy. My eyes were heavy, my limbs stiff as stone, and my head felt like a weight was attached to my neck. The pain came over me in waves, going numb one moment, before flaring up the next.

"_Not like I don't deserve it."_

I blinked. That's an odd thought to have while dying. Am I dying?

Nah, don't think so. I've died once before and it went a lot quicker than this, I think? Did I die when that bus hit me? Or was I simply thrown across dimensions due to the sheer violence of that impact? Why am I even bothering thinking about that right now when I was not bothered by the fact that I may be dying?

"_Because you deserve it."_

_Nope, stop that. Bad!_

"_You let them die."_

My eyes closed, but my consciousness remained. I couldn't fall asleep due to the pain I felt, but I couldn't remain awake either. My eyes felt far too heavy to even try. I briefly felt Morteza's fingers press against my neck, then heard a sigh of relief from him.

More muffled sounds filtered into my ears. Probably him and Anna talking about what needed to be done to find help. But I was not focused on those distant words. I was more focused on debating the little voice in my head. A nagging little thing that decided to pull out the most heinous of accusations against me.

Did I let the Shepherds die? Did my inaction seal their fates? If I had spoken up sooner, and told the others what I knew, would Anna, Donnel, Gaius, Tiki, all of them still be alive and with us in the past? The rational part of my brain knew that this rabbit hole in my mind would lead to nowhere, yet I still delved into it. I picked apart the details since I had nothing better to do with what might be my last moments of life.

I was so close. So close to getting at least one or two of the friends I made survive the terrible future. Donnel and Anna were at the Dragon's Table with me and the other kids. They were there, fighting, trying to survive. Ready and willing to leap through time to stop Grima. But in the end, Grima killed them too.

"_You didn't do enough."_

_Stop it!_

More muffled voices. I think the first was Nader's, and the second was Morteza. The third I could not place. Is it the bandits? If it is, then I need to get moving.

I tried to sit up again. Tried to get moving and fight off our bandit pursuers, only for a small, firm hand to push me back down. My eyes cracked open, and this time I saw Anna stopped over me.

"Looks like you're going to live, Samwise." She said, before glancing out of the cart and calling for someone by the name of Raad.

Yes… I'm going to live. That's good.

"_For you."_

A pair of men in a combination of scaled iron armor and desert robes entered the cart. Anna slipped from my sight as Morteza and Nader joined the two newcomers in the cart. I could hear their distant voices conversing; speaking rapidly while gesturing towards me. I heard the name 'Raad' again and saw one of the newcomers (a younger man with a sharp, closely trimmed beard and studious eyes) look at me with some curiosity.

I'm not exactly sure why he's looking at me that way, but regardless I did feel some of the stress inside of me fade away. I was going to live, and, for now, I was among friends. We'll see how long I manage to remain friendly with my new Plegian companions.

* * *

My boots crunched against the icy sidewalk. It was a soft crunch. One that I barely felt through the three layers of socks I wore today. Even then, all those wool and cotton layers did little to beat back the biting cold of Northeast Wisconsin's brutal winters. Even my winter coat, hoodie, long sleeve shirt, and undershirt did little to fend off the sub-zero wind chill whipping through the streets of Appleton. Already my toes, and fingers, felt numb, and I was only two hours into my eight-hour work day.

_God, I hate this job._

I paused as I rounded the corner of Rankin Street and moved onto Franklin Avenue; near the heart of Appleton's quaint downtown. For a moment, I paused on the corner, my boots coming to a rest in the packed down snow that had built up over the months along a sidewalk that was barely shoveled. A deep breath of icy air shot in and out of my lungs and my gaze turned to the row of houses with small yards lining Franklin Avenue.

I grumbled under my breath as I started my way towards the first house. This job was bullshit. I don't get paid enough to walk miles every day through sub-zero temperatures. For that matter, I don't get paid enough to knock on doors and try to get people to sign up for yard care when the average yard in this area is at best a thousand square feet. Furthermore, I don't get paid enough to chat with the police whenever someone calls to inform them that a door-to-door salesman is illegally doing his job in the neighborhood. But I couldn't tell my boss, or Yardboys Lawn Care, that. To them, a chat with the police is worth not having the permit necessary to actually do my job in this area.

_Why do I do this still?_

I paused near the icy porch steps of the first house. A cozy-looking home with shingle siding, a brick archway framing a red door, and a couple of nice bushes that would look very pretty during the summertime, but now looked like sharp branches topped with snow. A typical, downtown Appleton home, small yard included.

I drew in a deep breath and raised my gloved hand to knock on the door. My other hand cradled the nearly frozen, barely functioning, Ipad my work gave me to register people's phone numbers and email addresses if they said 'yes' to my sales pitch. If I was lucky, I'd get five or six people out of about one hundred houses to say 'yes'.

For some reason, I doubt whoever was in this house would give me the time of day. Still, I have to knock, have to do my job, have to get the door slammed in my face followed by meekly walking away with my head bowed, defeated and exasperated.

Once more, I drew in a frozen breath and raised my fist to knock on the red door. Part of me hoped that no one was home. Then I could mark the house off, and keep walking for another few hours before my meager lunch break.

My gloved hand tapped the door, and it creaked open. A dark, musty odor slammed into my nose, and I took a hesitant step back.

"Uh…" I turned my head back and forth, glancing up and down the road. As I did, I noticed that the sun was setting.

Wait…

The sun was setting. Why was the sun setting when I just started my shift?

A warm blast of wind smacked me across the face, coming from inside of the house. With it, a quiet whisper hit my ears. One that whispered my name and sent a chill running up my spine.

"What the hell?" I whispered.

I turned around, expecting to see one of the other salespeople I knew to be playing some sort of prank on me. All I saw was an empty street and a starless night sky.

_Starless… night… sky._

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and my head slowly turned back to the open door. The shadows within the room were all-consuming. I couldn't see anything, save for a few feet of old wooden floorboards that looked like they could use a good sweep.

This all felt wrong. Everything felt surreal, fake. The street behind me did not buzz with the usual noise from traffic driving along College Avenue only a block or two away. The elementary school across the street didn't have any bells ringing to signal the end of the school day, as it usually did when it got late. There weren't even kids in the park at that school.

There were always kids playing in that park, regardless of how cold it was outside.

Another faint whisper dangled in the air, emanating from the house's open maw. Do I step forward and check it out? Do step back, consider the house haunted, and mark it as a "no solicitor" address? The latter was tempting, but for some reason, I found my boots moving into the house.

The floorboards groaned as I walked into the dense shadows. My throat bobbed as I swallowed hard, my childhood fear of the dark gripping me tight as I took a few more cautious steps inside.

A few paces into the house, the door slammed shut behind me.

"Fuck!" I yelped, twirling around to rush out.

But the door was gone... as was the rest of the house. A shaky breath rattled out of my lungs as the air grew cold around me. I tugged on the collar of my many layers, trying to make it easier to breathe as my throat tightened due to panic. My green eyes whipped around, peering into the shadows in order to figure out what the hell was going on. My hands shook by my sides as I saw nothing.

A fire burst to life from a wood-burning fireplace to my left, making me almost jump out of my boots.

The fire did little to quell the darkness. It burned, but it burned faint. Red flames barely hot enough to burn away the little wood-burning within the brick fireplace flickered in the darkness, casting an ominous red glow around a bare room. I spotted windows lining two of the walls of the room, but no light came in or out of them. It was as if I was in some sort of void. A limbo, where nothing good came or went.

"What the hell?"

"I mean, you've already lived that."

My head whipped to the right, and I saw a lone hooded figure sitting at a dining table. The figure wore a black hood and cloak. Beneath the coat was a black jerkin. Bright gold buttons that shimmered in the red firelight, making it look like pools of blood swam within the ornate objects, sat on the front of the coat. Shadows disguised whatever was beneath the hood. Two hands, covered with black gloves, rested on top of the table. The fingers on the figure's right hand tapped against the gnarled, distressed wood.

"The question is, what happens when you live it all over again?" The finger asked, his fingers pausing in their incessant tapping, "Because you will."

I furrowed my brow, confused, and more than a little afraid.

"I-I'm sorry I don't know what you're talking about. I-" I glanced back to where the door was supposed to be and instead saw inky darkness. "I'm just-uh- " I reached into my back pocket for a brochure. "Hello there, my name is Samuel Wheeler, I work for-"

"I work for Yardboys Lawncare. Can I interest you in a quote for our lawn care services? All I need is your name and phone number and one of our reps can give you a call." A mocking chuckle came from the figure's shadowed face. "Sound familiar?"

My entire body trembled where I stood. At this point, you'd think I'd try to run out of this place. Where to? Well, fuck if I know, but running seemed like a good option one. Option two would be to decide that this is a nightmare and that I need to wake up. But this all felt too real, too vivid, to be a nightmare. Between those two options, my brilliant brain decided to go with option number three.

"Well… uh… can I get your name and-"

"Sit down." The figure commanded.

There was such force in his voice that I felt compelled to follow his orders. A chair materialized from thin air on my end of the table. With a dry mouth, a pounding heart, and pressure in my bladder; I pulled the chair out and sat down. My hands trembled as they rested on top of the table, mirroring the figure across from me. I kept my eyes down, looking at the table, following the grain of the knot filled wood, instead of staring up at the figure.

That did not sit well with whoever I shared this house with, because his voice echoed through the room again.

"Look at me." It snarled.

I squeezed my eyes shut, clenched my teeth, and started to pray for all this to go away.

Please, go away! I don't want to be here. I want to go home. I want to get back into my shitty apartment, crack open a cold Pepsi, sit down and watch Big Bang Theory reruns for the millionth time. Whatever this person, monster, creature, demon thing is; get me away from it!

Mocking laughter echoed around me. My eyes pried themselves open, unable to not look at the figure any longer.

"Was this really me?" The figure breathed, making my blood go cold. "Was this how I was? A coward, a craven, so afraid of the unknown, of what he could become, that he's on the verge of pissing himself just by seeing what's happened?" The figure hummed as I stared at it wide-eyed. "Then again, I suppose it would make sense if you actually understood everything that has happened to you. Still, I thought I was stronger than that."

I leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the thing sitting across from me. As I did, the figure leaned as well, matching my movements. As he did, a face came into view, barely visible in the red glow of the cold firelight.

It was a grizzled face. Worn and tired. A scruffy, short beard lined his chin and hollow cheeks. Long, unkempt brown hair framed his gaunt features. Haunted, but hardened, green eyes stared into mine. He had the look of a man that had been through hell and survived it.

"You have lived through hell. Well, we have. I have." The figure said, his voice sharp and clear, "Do you want to live it again?"

I drew back in my chair, and he matched my motion, "Wh-what are you-"

I shook my head as my hands kept shaking. My right hand went up to my head, fingers running through my short brown hair. I froze when I saw the man across from me mirror my movements.

My brow furrowed, and so did his. Slowly, I raised my hand from my head and waved it off to the side. He did the same, with a less than amused expression on his face. A heavy breath then left his lips, and to my horror, a heavy breath left mine.

"Are you done?" He asked.

"Y-you- I- me- what-"

A long groan left his lips, and a long groan left my lips. My head bowed, forehead almost kissing the tabletop.

"God, how are you like this?" We said as one.

I whipped my head up in time with the man across from me. Then, I saw his lips part into a knowing smirk, one that my lips matched even though I didn't want to smile.

I wanted to escape. I wanted to run so far away from this that I would never ever experience it again.

"But you will experience it all again if you run away." We leaned over the table, faces drawing closer together. "We will live that hell again."

Something violent slammed into my mind. Pain, both physical and mental. I grit my teeth, but this time the mirror remained still. He glowered at me as I slumped in my seat, head resting on the table. My entire body shook as vivid images flashed in my mind. Images of friends I did not know. An orange-haired man who loved candy, always had a friendly smile on his lips, and died in front of me. A green-haired woman with pointed ears that seemed so serene but so weary at the same time, who died as I heard her last words. A grizzled, war-weary soldier with one hand and a farmer's drawl who saw me as someone that could look out for those he had failed.

And a red-haired woman with a faint twinkle in her red eyes, and an exhausted expression on her face. One who died as I held her hand inside of a room swarming with the undead.

"You know what happens."

I raised my head, and the figure was gone. I drew back, expecting to feel my thick coat press into the back of the chair. Instead, I felt far thinner fabric rub between the chair and me. My breath lodged in my throat, and I looked down at my body, seeing golden buttons on a black jerkin. A black, hooded cloak sat over my head and shoulders.

When I looked up again, I saw me… but not me… sitting across from me. It was me before all the pain and death. Me before the horrors of war and the apocalypse. The coward. The one that would rather run than try to fight back. The one unwilling to fight for those he cared about because he was afraid. The one unwilling to better himself and instead languished in a dead-end job because it was the easiest way to pay rent. I recognized all of him. Right down to the short brown hair, innocent green eyes, and bare chin.

"You've already lived it."

The knot in my throat faded, and I relaxed in my seat. One last image flashed in my mind. A bright portal of light, and a group of Shepherds leaping through it in a desperate attempt to prevent everything that had already happened.

"Do you want to live it again?"

* * *

My eyes cracked open; not with a jolt, or with a sharp snapping open, but with a lazy, tired rise. It was strange. Usually, after having a nightmare I would jolt awake, out of breath and filled with panic, with sweat beading on my brow and my chest heaving up and down.

This time, I awoke feeling weak and tired. Whatever panic or fear I did have was overruled by the lingering aches and pains throughout my body, and overwhelming exhaustion that caused my entire body to feel heavier than lead.

Thankfully, I had some sort of soft mat beneath me. Before, in my old life, I would've cringed at having to sleep on a mat. Today, a mat felt heavenly. Certainly an upgrade over the hard wood of Anna's cart, or the ground. With that in mind, I didn't feel like moving, so I decided to stare up at a strange ceiling with my eyes cracked open.

I say strange because it was not a solid ceiling. It was an indigo canvas tent over my head. A couple of holes sat along the spine of the tentpole that held the roof above me, allowing bright rays of sunlight to leak into the tent. I squinted as one ray passed over my vision, nearly blinding me. One of my weak arms rose from my side and shadowed out my eyes. Such a simple motion should've been easy, but as soon as my arm rose to a certain height, my back and shoulders tightened up, making me groan.

That groan elicited some sort of movement to my right. I let my hand fall, drew in a deep breath, and hissed as I turned my head. My eyes widened when I spotted a grumpy girl with bright red hair pulled back into two long twin tails sitting on a stool across the room. Her arms were folded over a familiar gambeson, while her legs were crossed one over the other. A frustrated pout sat on her pale lips as she looked down at me.

"Uh…" My voice came out as a quiet croak as I shifted onto my left elbow. Probably a mistake, since every muscle in my body protested the action, but I forced my way through the pain. I could feel a thin sheet made of scratchy fabric shift over my shoulders as I moved. "How's it going, Severa?"

Her brow furrowed at me as she said nothing. An uncomfortable silence sat between us. I propped myself a bit more onto my right elbow, and the sheet shifted off of my shoulders. For a brief second, I saw Severa's eyes widen, before her red eyes flicked to the door.

"You took your time waking up." She grumbled. "Any idea how difficult it is to be among Plegians without help coming up with a convincing story about how we got here?"

I tilted my head a little bit, "Yeah uh… nice to see you too."

Severa rolled her eyes as she returned her gaze to me. "Samwise that's not what I- gawds-" She bit her lip and sighed. "Good to see you alive."

"Barely," I grunted, sitting upright and drawing my legs closer to my chest. I rolled my head side to side, feeling the muscles knot up into tight balls, then relax after getting some blood flowing in them again. "How long was I out?"

Severa shrugged, "Dunno, I only woke up yesterday."

I arched an eyebrow, "You only woke up-"

"Give me a break," Severa interrupted with a huff, "It's kind of hard not to lose consciousness after what we've been through. I mean gawds, I doubt you plummeted from the sky like I did."

I pursed my lips, "I'm pretty sure I did." I winced again as more pain lanced up my back and into my neck, "So can you bring me up to speed or-"

A tent flap in front of me fluttered, followed by the sound of boots trudging on top of a carpeted, sandy floor. A pair of hands clapped, and I saw a cleaned up Morteza saunter into the room. He wore new desert robes, complete with a fresh turban covering his head and neck as protection from Plegia's blazing sun. Iron armor, shaped like scales hammered together into a tight-knit vest rested over his light robes. A brown sash was wrapped around his waist, which is where I spotted a scimitar strapped to him. Upon seeing me sit up, a broad smile passed over his features.

"Samwise, my friend." Morteza spread his arms wide, "It's good to see you awake. We started getting worried after the third day."

"Th-third day?" I whipped my gaze to Severa who gave me a shrug.

"I woke up a day before you did so-"

"And you never asked?"

"I tried my best not to talk too much." She hissed.

A light chuckle came from Morteza, "Ah, I see you two know each other."

I blinked. That was a slip-up. I knew it, and Severa knew it judging by the sudden panic I saw in her gaze. Morteza didn't show any ill intent towards us. Did he even notice? If he did, I doubt he would still be smiling at us. In fact, he had been nothing but friendly to me up to this point. Still, I couldn't trust him. He was a Plegian, and last I checked, those guys were responsible for the situation Severa and I fled in the future.

But how exactly do I explain how Severa and I know each other?

"Uh, yeah, well," I rubbed the back of my neck, wincing as pain passed through it. "We were part of the same group of mercenaries for a while." I saw a look of surprise flash over Severa's face. She quickly corrected it before Morteza could notice… I hope. "Nice to see you again, by the way."

"Um, nice to see you too… again," Severa replied with a frown.

Oh, I know that look. Anna liked to give me that look. It's the 'we'll talk later' look, although I'm not as terrified of Severa as I was of Anna. Still, I'm not looking forward to what is going to be a very interesting talk once Morteza is gone.

Another laugh came from Morteza, "Quite the coincidence, but I'm not going to pry too much. That's not my job. That's Captain Raad and the General's job. I'm sure they'll be along soon to chat with both of you. However, before both of them get here and sour the mood; I figured I would check to see if you were actually awake, Samwise. Now that you are, they can speak to both of you at once. Saves time, yes?"

I arched an eyebrow, "I guess?"

"Glad you're thinking the same as me. And-"

"Morteza." A voice droned, making the man freeze mid-sentence.

The voice came from the face of a man I vaguely recognized. After a moment of wracking my brain, I realized he was one of the soldiers that found me, Morteza, Nader, and Anna out in the desert. He was the one with the sharp, dark beard on a pointed chin. He wore attire similar to Morteza, but his robes featured more indigo and gold colors than Morteza's, and he had a strange sword with a bend near the tip against his hip. Not a scimitar, but something closer in design to my kukri, although I could not place the name of it.

As soon as the man entered, Morteza turned around and gave him a low bow of his head.

"Captain Raad," Morteza motioned towards both me and Severa, "They're both awake now."

"I see that." Captain Raad replied, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "You may wait outside for now."

"Yes, Captain," Morteza replied, his voice stiffer and more formal than normal.

Without another word, Morteza marched out, leaving Severa and me alone with the Plegian Captain.

Raad's dark eyes flicked between both of us, and while Severa didn't meet his gaze, I did, which meant he focused on me.

"So, Morteza and Nader tell me you and that merchant helped them escape those bandits?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line. Severa shot me a surprised glance, while I drew in a deep breath, preparing myself for an onslaught of further questions.

"Yup."

Captain Raad shifted in his stance, and gave me a small nod, "Well, that should put the General in a better mood then. He's anxious to speak to both of you. Can you move?"

Severa's somewhat nervous demeanor shifted into one of offense. Her brow knitted and a long scowl crossed her features as she folded her arms.

"Does it look like he can move?"

"Sev…" I groaned before Captain Raad could reply.

I took a deep breath, braced my body for what was sure to be a painful rise, then slid the sheet from my body so I could stand up. As I stood, I finally noticed the many layers of gauze wrapped tight around my pale, scrawny, scarred torso. Thankfully, I still had pants on, so that saved me any embarrassment.

My bare feet padded off of the bed mat and onto the rug next to it, all the while both Captain Raad and Severa stared at me. Raad once again regarded me with some curiosity, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable. His eyes, thankfully, didn't linger too long. Severa however, looked mortified, in her own way. Her eyes would dart to the left, then to the right, then linger on my messed up body for a few moments, before repeating the pattern. Her right hand massaged her left arm as she did her best not to stare. An effort I appreciated, but I could still feel her gaze on me whenever it landed.

The Plegian Captain nodded, moved over to a chest off to the side in the tent, and pulled a thin linen shirt from it. He tossed the shirt over to me.

"Put this on and come with me. The General is waiting."

With that, the Captain exited the tent. As quickly as I could, I pulled the shirt on, wincing as all my muscles tightened with each movement I made. Once I had it on, I glanced over at Severa, who looked even more uneasy as she hesitated to follow the captain.

"You sure you're up for this?" She asked, unusually concerned, "We might have to fight our way out of this."

I tried to shrug, but instantly regretted the attempt as a stabbing pain shot through my shoulders and neck. So, instead of shrugging, I gave her an uncertain bob of my head.

"Hopefully it won't come to fighting."

"It's Plegians. I'm sure it will." Severa grumbled as both of us moved to the tent's exit.

"Better than Risen." I pointed out.

My mind raced a moment as Severa's concerns bounced through my thoughts. She was not wrong, these people were Plegians. Not just any Plegians, but members of the Plegian military. A hostile force against Ylisse and the Shepherds. I could understand her concerns just from that knowledge alone. If we both had it our way, we would not be in this situation at all. We would be with Lucina, off somewhere in Ylisse, working to save the world from Grima. Instead, we've been separated from the others, and we had no clear way out of this situation yet.

Which means, that if we're going to get through this alive, we'd have to come up with a convincing lie.

"Just follow my lead," I muttered to her.

"Follow your-" Severa did a double-take, "Do you hear yourself? Have you seen how badly you panic when push comes to shove?"

"Oh, I'm aware," I replied, voice low so Captain Raad couldn't overhear. "But I doubt you're a convincing liar, and I managed to get the Shepherds to believe I was an amnesiac for over three months. So, who do you think is the better liar?" I pulled back on the tent flap. "Ladies first?"

Severa went quiet, her mouth turning into a frown as she looked at me. With a huff and a roll of her eyes, she stepped out.

"Gawds, you better not screw this up."

"If I do, then at least I have you to clean up the mess."

Severa did not reply as both of us stepped out into the blazing Plegian sun. As soon as I exited the tent, a wall of heat slammed into me. The closest thing I could compare it to, was back in my old world when I visited Texas in the middle of July one year. I remembered stepping out of the airport and walking into what felt like a wall of fire. Multiply that feeling several times, and that is how the Plegian desert felt in the daytime. The heat from the sand alone felt like it was baking my feet inside of my boots. Already, from just stepping out into the sun, I could feel both a thin layer of sweat building on my brow and a sunburn starting to form on my nose.

_Hopefully, they have some sort of remedy for that._

Both Captain Raad and Morteza waited for us outside the tent. Once Severa and I emerged, Morteza gave us a smile and nod, while Captain Raad had an indifferent expression.

"Follow me." Captain Raad said, "Morteza, go see to your duties."

"Yes, Captain." Morteza patted my shoulder, "Good luck, my friend."

Morteza trudged away from us, and Captain Raad began walking in the other direction, deeper into the Plegian camp.

The tent I woke up in was near the edge of the small camp. This was definitely not the largest military camp I have ever seen (especially given the sheer number of soldiers that were present at Arena Ferox before the terrible massacre there). Judging by what I saw as I followed Captain Raad, there were about three dozen tents. Most appeared to be communal living tents, and those were tan tents with faint indigo stripes on them. I spotted a larger tent near the center of the camp that had a large sign in front of it. A fork and a knife were carved into the makeshift sign, telling me that the tent had to be the dining tent. Next to that tent was another tent with thick exterior walls made of a dark fabric. That tent had another sign next to the entry, with bubbles carved into the wood.

_A bathhouse in the desert?_

Finally, at the edge of the communal living tents, was a tent with just a tan roof and no exterior walls. Inside of that tent, multiple stakes were driven into the ground. Tied to those stakes were several humped animals that caused me and Severa to grind to a halt and stare in shock.

"Never seen a camel before?" Captain Raad asked, his voice not betraying any hints of amusement at our stunned expressions.

"A what?" Severa blurted out before quickly closing her mouth.

Severa's reply managed to elicit a quiet chuckle from the Captain.

"Apparently not."

We walked a little further before arriving at the other side of the camp, where a deep indigo and gold tent rested apart from the other residence tents. Two soldiers stood guard outside of the tent's entry. Both soldiers were outfitted in attire similar to Morteza, but instead of a sword on their sides, they held spears in their hands. Thin, cloth masks covered their faces, disguising everything except for their eyes, which glanced at me and Severa with some suspicion and curiosity. Upon seeing Captain Raad both soldiers bowed their heads and stepped to the side.

_Time to meet the General. _I thought, gulping a little. Hopefully, this General was a reasonable one. Although, the chances of that were not great given how insane most of the Plegians were in the game.

I glanced over to Severa, trying to silently communicate to her to follow my lead. Thankfully, she got the message as she gave me a slight nod of her head. Finally, we followed Captain Raad into the tent.

The first thing I noticed about the tent was how much cooler it felt inside of it. The air had to be at least twenty degrees cooler inside the tent than outside, which made me wonder if something magical was involved in regulating the heat.

The next interesting feature of the tent was the luxurious rug lining the floor. An intricate, artistic, pattern was woven into the threads of the pattern in gold, red, and indigo hues. Atop the rug sat a small desk that appeared to be foldable.

Behind the desk sat a man that was as big as Sir Frederick, perhaps bigger. Frederick's size was always boosted by his armor, but this man wore no armor. Instead, he was bare-chested, with his muscular, tanned torso only covered by bone shoulder pauldrons lined with soft leather. Two leather bandoliers crossed his torso. His forearms were covered by dark, fur-lined gauntlets plated with bone as well.

His head was bald, and his face was weathered and leathery. He had a heavy brow that was furrowed as he looked down at a letter nestled between the fingertips of his right hand. His left hand stroked a long, thick, black beard. The General had not noticed our arrival.

Captain Raad cleared his throat, and the General's eyes flicked up to the entrance of his tent.

"Ah, Captain," His heavy eyes flicked behind Captain Raad to both me and Severa, "I see our guests are up and moving."

"That they are, General Mustafa."

It took every fiber of my being not to suck in a sharp breath at the mention of that name. Captain Raad approached the general's desk, while Severa and I lingered back near the entry. Briefly, Raad glanced at the letter Mustafa set down on his desk.

"I see our magical advisor is on their way from Doluna?"

"Yes, and we can discuss the matter later." General Mustafa replied with a curt tone, "You may leave now."

Captain Raad cringed upon noticing the General's displeasure, "Ah, yes. I shall go work on the scouting roster."

"That you should."

With a bow, Captain Raad turned and left, leaving me and Severa alone with General Mustafa.

Mustafa drew in a deep breath then leaned back in his seat, studying both Severa and I for a moment as we stood a ways away from him. His brow furrowed further, and his lips drew into a frown that was barely visible beneath the thick whiskers lining his lips. With a huff, he folded up the letter he had been reading, shoved it into a chest beside his desk, then folded his hands on the desk.

"Come and sit, you two. We have some things to discuss."

He gestured to two seats situated in front of his desk. Severa and I exchanged nervous glances, and we both moved to sit. I winced as I sat down, drawing a mild look of concern from General Mustafa.

"Not well after all that rest, young man?"

The casual nature of the question caught me off guard, and elicited a slight laugh from my lips. I cringed as more pain ached through my body due to the laugh.

"Seems like it." I replied, "But I am grateful for whatever you and your men have done for me and my friend."

If General Mustafa noticed that I referred to Severa as my friend, he didn't show it. Instead, he gave me an amicable smile. And by amicable, I mean barely noticeable. But the furrow in his brow lessened. That must mean I got somewhere with my words.

"Happy to assist a man that assisted my soldiers. From what I understand, you were captured by those bandits as well?"

"Bandits?" Severa exclaimed, "What bandits!? What did you-"

I raised my hand, quieting her, before speaking, "Yes, although I don't recall how it happened. I think they might have knocked me upside the head pretty hard. Regardless, I wound up in the same cave as Morteza and Nader. Thankfully, your soldiers were there to help me and the merchant, Anna, escape."

Mustafa snorted at that, "Morteza sang your praises, so don't undersell yourself. He told me how you were the one to get the keys from your jailor, and how you managed to slay one of those bandits in your escape with that small Kopis of yours."

"It's a kukri." I corrected, causing a pit to form in my gut as I slipped up again.

Mustafa regarded me strangely, "Interesting. I don't believe I've heard of such a weapon." He turned in his seat, reached into another chest next to the one he shoved the note in. My kukri emerged from the chest, nestled in Mustafa's hand with tender care. He held it out in front of me. "You'll have to tell me how you came t have such a weapon one day."

He held the grip out to me. I hesitated a moment, then reached out and took the weapon. A small smirk crossed General Mustafa's lips as I took my weapon back and set it down in my lap.

"Now then." Mustafa leaned back in his seat, "How do you two know each other?"

Severa glanced at me. Now I had to figure out an effective lie. I do not know how Severa managed to get entangled in a Plegian army camp, so that'll complicate the effectiveness of the lie. Further complicating things was the fact that I am not the best liar, as Anna liked to point out to me in the future. Nevertheless, I had to try. The last thing Severa and I needed was to be cast out of the only shelter nearby in this desert.

"We were part of a mercenary group out in Valm together, for a brief time." I replied, "Once things got a little too tense over there, due to… y'know, war-"

"I'd think that a conqueror conquering a continent would make for plenty of work for mercenaries," Mustafa grunted, folding his thick arms over his barrel chest.

I uttered a nervous laugh and prayed it sounded more like an amused noise, "Well, funny you should say that. The um… that conqueror guy doesn't like mercenaries very much. He doesn't hire mercenaries. I wasn't too keen on dying fighting his unstoppable armies, so I came over here. Severa stayed behind, though I figured she'd come along at some point."

Mustafa nodded his head. Seems like I might have convinced him. Talk about getting lucky.

"Is she a mage?" Mustafa asked, gesturing towards Severa and making her draw back in her seat.

I blinked, "I'm sorry, what?"

"I figured she must be since she came out of bright light in the sky and fell into the sand right outside of camp a couple days ago."

Fuck me, that complicates things. Part of me hoped Severa just happened to get picked up by some random Plegian scouts while unconscious in the middle of nowhere. In a way, she was. Unfortunately, her arrival occurred too close to the Plegian camp to hide how she wound up here.

I had to think fast. What is an explanation that could be passable for now? Time travel was out of the question, so what else could I say?

I recalled a certain, worm-like man and the magic he used from the Awakening game, and decided that was the best way to go.

"Probably warp magic then." I replied as casually as I could before turning to Severa, "You had some mage friends back in the day. That one too, Laurel? Lauren?"

"Laurent?" Severa replied, looking baffled.

"That's the one. He often liked to play around with warp magic. Probably hit you with one of his experiments by accident, right?"

Severa stared blankly at me for a moment. Then she caught on, and she quickly replied.

"O-oh right, Laurent, yes! Gawds, he slipped my mind." Severa said with a sheepish laugh that made me cringe, "That damn idiot, right. He zapped me while I wasn't looking, then next thing I know I'm falling into a sand dune."

Another nervous laugh left Severa's lips, and I had to fight off a wince. She is terrible at lying, but I didn't realize she was this bad at lying. My eyes darted back to Mustafa, who looked thoroughly unconvinced by our charade. His heavy brow knitted as he stared at both me and Severa, contemplating what to do with us. As of yet, I still had no idea if my lie convinced him.

It was only when he let out a heavy breath, leaned forward in his seat, and steepled his fingers in front of his face, that I knew we were absolutely fucked.

"I know a lie when I hear one, you two."

_Goddamn it! The one time I needed luck!_

"Normally, I do not suffer liars." His stern gaze leveled with me, making me squirm a little in my seat, "However… these are not normal circumstances. As payment for saving the lives of two of my soldiers, Samwise, whatever your stories are will remain your secrets."

A loud sigh of relief escaped both mine and Severa's mouths at the same time.

"But," I sucked in a sharp breath as Mustafa continued. "if you so much as present yourselves as a danger to my men, or to Plegia, I will have no choice but to deal with both of you. I'm sure you can infer what that means on your own?"

Both Severa and I slowly nodded our heads.

"Good," Mustafa grunted. He leaned back in his seat once more, eyes studying both of us for a moment, "What to do with you two?"

Indeed, what to do with us. My lie failed. Both Severa and I were stuck behind enemy lines, for lack of a better phrase. If we opted to leave, where would we go? We could try to go to Ylisse, but without supplies, or good health for that matter (damn wounds), we'd most likely die in the desert of thirst. That, or those very bandits that captured me in the first place would capture us again. I was in no condition to do any fighting for a few days at least, and that's only if I still receive regular treatment.

So, striking out on our own was out of the question. I had a feeling Severa felt differently about that, and I know I'll find out her opinion soon enough. For now, we need a safe spot to stay, recover, and regroup. I've managed to gain some goodwill with Mustafa and his men. Might as well use it.

I drew in a deep breath, and leaned forward in my seat, tapping into that door-to-door salesman charm that absolutely did not exist. I had to try though.

"May I make a suggestion?"

**And chapter! Severa and Sam have reunited! Things are moving a little slower, mostly because I've got to do a lot of setup for everything coming up. I've got some major changes for the plot possibly in mind, still have to figure out how to make some of them work, but it is going to be very fun to write! Already, we've got one big change. Both Sam and Severa are in Plegia with General Mustafa. Worst place to be with the best person possible in said worst place. Should make things very interesting. Also, I did notice some of you comment about Anna's Brooch in the reviews. Don't worry, I did not forget about it. I've got something in mind for how Sam is going to get it back, and that is coming up in a few chapters.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!  
**

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**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse podcast_! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We talk about fanfiction, writing, fire emblem, and other nonsense that we feel like discussing. You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	41. Making Friends Out of Enemies

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 38

Making Friends out of Enemies

My hands dipped into the lukewarm water inside of the small basin in the Plegian mess tent. Before my fingers could get used to the feeling of refreshing water washing over my dried, cracked knuckles, I splashed water on my face. A loud gasp slipped from my lips, as my weary mind was shocked awake, helping me get a better grasp of my surroundings.

While I had been mostly alert for the meeting with General Mustafa, I did feel weary and weak the entire time. It must've showed, because as soon as the General and I came to an agreement, he ordered me and Severa to the mess tent. Said something along the lines of "Food will do you some good, boy". Not exactly sure how I feel about that. Then again, during those last days in the future, the best food I had was an occasional bowl of soup. So when I smelled the intoxicating aroma of meat roasting over a spit and fire, my mouth watered.

_Oh, this is going to be so good. _I thought as I wiped excess water from my face with my hands. I paused when my fingers ran over my mouth and chin, eyes widening a little as it felt like my hands were running over a carpet. My brow furrowed and I peered into the still rippling water, _When did I grow a bad goatee and get hair like a hippy?_

I ran my fingers over the uneven facial hair growing around my mouth, then nearly jumped out of my skin as a hand slapped my back. I spun around, one hand on my kukri, the other still on my chin. Behind me, Severa arched an eyebrow as her usual scowl rested on her face.

"We need to talk."

A long sigh left my lips, "You didn't have to give me a heart attack."

Severa rolled her eyes, "Whatever, let's get out of here and talk."

My stomach rumbled, and I glanced over to where a pair of portly Plegian cooks were roasting some sort of animal over a roaring fire. If I had to take a guess as to what it was, I was gonna say a sheep. I'm not normally a lamb person, but given how famished I felt, they could've been feeding me the ass end of a hog and I'd be happy.

"Sam." Severa hissed, snapping me out of my hungry daydreaming.

"Can't this wait until after we've eaten?"

"Not really considering we are now guests of Plegians." She reminded me, teeth clenched tight.

I rolled my eyes, "You need to give it a rest."

I didn't miss Severa gawking at me as I turned away and moved towards a table laden with pewter plates and cutlery. As I grasped a plate and fork, Severa marched up beside me, red eyes boring holes into me as she leaned against the table.

"You've got some nerve."

"Comes and goes, and it is entirely dependent on how hungry I am," I replied.

I plucked a plate, only for Severa's hand to smack both my hand and the plate, back down on the table.

"Food can-"

"Not wait, because the General told us to eat." I finished for her, causing Severa to go red in the face, "Wouldn't want to offend our hosts, right? Especially after the deal I managed to cut."

I slipped my hand, and the plate, out from Severa's hand before strolling towards the fire. There, one of the cooks took my plate, placed a couple of slabs of a strange green vegetable that had faint char marks and a bit of green pulp in the center on my plate, then added a couple slices of lamb. The cook then glanced up at me, furrowed his brow, and added one more slice of meat.

"Put some meat on your bones." He grunted.

"Thanks," I remarked, right as Severa shoved her way beside me, plate in hand.

I took a few steps back and waited for Severa as the cooks gave her some food. They also placed three slabs of lamb on her plate, along with the pulpy, green vegetable. A quiet laugh slipped from my lips when I saw the apprehensive look on Severa's face once she saw the vegetable.

"Cactus." The cook grunted.

"Cack-what?"

"Sev," I said, a wry smirk spreading over my lips. She whipped her eyes over to me, "Don't you want to talk?" Her eyes narrowed at me, and I nodded my head towards a small, low set table off in the corner of the mess tent, "Come on already."

I could hear her grumbling all the way over to the corner. As we got closer to the low table, I noticed something strange. The table was much lower to the ground than I thought, looking more like a platter than an actual table. Instead of chairs on either side of the table, well-worn cushions sat around it.

There must be some form of dining ritual I was not aware of, but I was too hungry to care. With a shrug, I sat down on one of the cushions, then set my plate down in front of me. Severa was more hesitant than I was, but hunger won her over too, and she took a seat.

"So," I began, as I used my fork to cut a piece of cactus on my plate into a more manageable bite, "what's up?"

Severa leaned forward in her seat, her hand squeezing her fork so tight her knuckles were turning white, "What's up? Do you not see where we are?"

I shoveled a bit of cactus into my mouth. To my surprise, it wasn't half bad. It almost tasted like citrus, but at the same time, it had a bit of a slimy texture. Normally not a food I would go for, but goddamn am I hungry, so it tasted heavenly.

"Yeah, and?" I replied after I swallowed my first bite. I quickly followed with a second bite of cactus, before beginning to cut a small portion of the lamb, "What do you think we should've done?"

"Not stay with Plegians, for one." Severa hissed, keeping her voice down so the cooks couldn't hear us. We would have to keep this conversation quiet for a while anyway. If the cooks' behavior was any indication, judging by the number of plates and cutlery they were placing out, it was nearly mealtime for the soldiers. "We should be looking for Lucina and the others."

I nodded, "We'll have to, yeah. But how do you recommend we do that?"

This time, Severa was at a loss. I could see her wracking her brain for an answer, but when she came up with none, I set my fork down and folded my hands.

"Sev, I get this isn't ideal. This is the absolute worst spot for us to be, probably. But, we cannot survive in the desert on our own. We have no idea where exactly we are in relation to Ylisse. For that matter, even if we did, we have no way of carrying enough supplies to trek across the desert on our own. You want a surefire way to an agonizing death, that's the way to do it."

"How would you know?" Severa retorted.

"Discovery Channel," I remarked, before shoveling another bite of lamb into my mouth.

The amount of spices rubbed into the meat made it quite the flavorful bite. Due to how bland my diet had been in the future, it almost overpowered my senses. I coughed into my hand, quickly chewed, and swallowed. The entire time, Severa was giving me one of the most incredulous looks I have ever seen from her.

"I'm-" She snorted in disbelief, "Gawds, I don't even know how to respond to that."

"Don't worry about it." I replied with a wave of my hand, "For now, we need to make the best of our situation. Thankfully, we've earned some goodwill from General Mustafa, thanks to Morteza and Nader."

"And what happens when that goodwill runs out?"

I chewed on a bite of my dinner… lunch… what time is it anyway? I'll have to ask when someone passed by. Regardless, Severa raised a good question. What happens if General Mustafa isn't like how he is portrayed in-game? He only ever appeared in one chapter of the Awakening game. That chapter was brief, which allowed only a few aspects of his character to be revealed; like his unusual code of honor, which could've been easily exaggerated. For all I know, that was put in place to keep the story going. In which case, Mustafa is likely much more shrewd and cunning than the game let on. How else would he have risen through the Plegian military ranks?

Yes, that is a worrisome prospect. Our situation entirely depended on the goodwill of a General we had only just met. I could think of worse situations to be in, but this was far from ideal.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there," I muttered.

Severa let her fork fall down to her plate, still not having taken a bite of her food, "You have no idea, do you?"

I drew in a deep breath and shook my head. The least I could be was honest with her, right now. While I had some knowledge of the situation from a game in my world, Severa lacked any of that assurance. She was probably freaking out on the inside, and doing a solid job hiding her anxiety behind her prickly demeanor.

_Probably as prickly as this cactus once was._

"Gawds..." Severa sagged in her seat, her head shaking as her gaze lingered on me, "Are we that fucked?"

"Lang-"

"Shove a hunk of meat in it!"

Despite her cross reply, I still snorted out a small laugh. What else could I do but laugh at this entire situation? It all seemed so ridiculous. Not only have we survived this long, but we managed to befriend a group of Plegians in the middle of Plegia. This, of course, occurred after we broke every scientific law that I knew of and traveled through time. Frankly, I didn't have the energy in me to be petrified about the people or setting we were in.

Besides, Gaius and Anna's words of wisdom echoed in my mind the entire time I negotiated with Mustafa. Complete the mission, by any means necessary. In order to complete the mission, in order to defeat Grima, we had to be alive. Survival first, link up with the other Shepherds from the future second. While I still haven't worked out a way of doing the latter, since I've only been awake for at best a couple of hours, I seemed to be skilled at the former. Perhaps it was by complete luck that was the case, but I'll take it in this instance.

"We might be." I admitted, "But only if we let ourselves be that fucked." I wiped a hand over my mouth and nodded at her plate, "Look where we are right now? When was the last time you had food this good?"

Severa wrinkled her nose, "Cactus and lamb?"

"Food that wasn't soup?"

Severa uttered a loud huff, looked down at her plate, and nudged her food around it with her fork.

"Been a while." She admitted her voice very quiet.

"Exactly." I ate another piece of cactus, "Besides, in exchange for our help tracking down the General's targets; we have food, shelter, and, most importantly, water. Also, there are bandits prowling this desert. I doubt they'll strike at a military group of this size."

Severa uttered a sound of disbelief, "Are you saying that we're safer among Plegians than on our own?"

I finished off another bite of cactus, smacked my lips, then nodded.

"Yeah."

She stared at me gobsmacked.

"Gawds, we're fucked."

"Royally." I sighed, "But hey, the food that comes with the fucking is pretty good."

I finally managed to elicit something from Severa other than a frown, scoff, huff, or annoyed sigh. She snorted at my comment, shaking her head a little bit as her gaze drifted back down to her plate. She nudged her food around with her fork again, and I got the sense that she was done with the conversation. Now, she was off somewhere else. Just barely, I could see both of her hands trembling.

"Eat," I said, as I finished off my second slice of lamb. As I did this, a group of Plegian soldiers entered, "You'll feel better."

Severa scoffed, "I…" A pained look passed over her face. A look she tried to hide. "I'm not sure that'll work."

"Regardless, you need your strength." I gestured to her food with my fork, "Eat. Now that the soldiers are here, we can't afford to look strange."

Severa rolled her eyes, "We already look strange. Especially you."

I opened my mouth to argue with her, as she finally started to take a bite of her food, but then closed my mouth.

"Eh," I shrugged, "Not wrong."

"My friends!" A cheerful voice rang out, causing Severa and I to whip our gazes over to the tent entrance, where we saw Morteza and Nader enter the mess tent. Both men strode to our table. As Morteza took a seat, Nader broke off and grabbed two plates, one for himself and one for Morteza. Meanwhile, Morteza took a seat to my right, a broad grin spreading over his lips.

"I see the General took a liking to both of you."

"Somehow." Severa droned.

"We came to an arrangement," I replied, trying my best to not divulge any details to Morteza. As friendly as he appeared to be, Severa did have a point before. These people were Plegians, the enemies of Naga, and Ylisse. We still had to be careful.

"Good to hear." Morteza nodded. He glanced at Severa and my plates, "Oh, goat and cactus." Severa froze mid-bite, "Delicious! Last time we had something like this was last year when we were deployed along the southwest coast, hunting down pirates."

Severa stared wide-eyed at the hunk of meat on her plate. Part of me wondered if she knew what a goat was. Then again, she probably does know, which is why she's giving her food such a horrified look.

"Pirates?" I asked.

"Yes, yes, pirates," Morteza replied. Nader finally returned with their plates of food, and he took a seat on the other side of the table from Morteza. "Wasn't too much trouble."

"They got away." Nader deadpanned as he started eating his food.

"And that is why they weren't too much trouble." Morteza remarked, "Can't be trouble if they leave the coast, right?"

Nader shrugged, and I chuckled a little bit. As I laughed, I recalled my confusion about the time.

"Say, Morteza."

"Yes?"

"What time is it?"

Morteza looked around the mess tent, "Supper time. The cooks will make a late dinner for the further out patrols, but the majority of the company will be in here."

"And the date?" Severa asked bluntly, making me tense in my seat.

Morteza raised an eyebrow, "A bit of an odd question, no?"

"We've been traveling for a while." I cut in, "Long days and nights on the road lends itself to losing track of time."

"Long days and nights, in general, makes one lose track of time," Nader mumbled, his mouth half full of food.

"Ah yes, I forgot you both were traveling before arriving here." Morteza replied, as he started cutting into his food, "Well, it is October the fifteenth. And the year, in case you are curious, is the nine hundred and ninety-ninth After Schism."

Severa blanched across from me, and her hands started to tremble again. I wasn't entirely sure why she was reacting that way, until it dawned on me. Severa looked terrified. Very few things could cause that, as far as I was aware of. One thing that could cause it though, was something not going according to plan. The plan, when we jumped back in time, was to arrive at the right time for us to be able to stop Grima. If Severa looked petrified, then that could only mean one thing: we're either too early, or too late. Given the lack of Risen, or Fell Dragon, roaming around, it's probably safe to assume the former.

_Wow. _I thought, leaning back in my seat and staring at a frozen Severa.

"Almost to the year one thousand," Nader commented, not noticing Severa's distress or my surprise.

"Almost one thousand years since the founding of the kingdom." Morteza nodded, "May Grima continue to bless us."

Nader snorted, "Sure."

Severa's eyes darted up and met mine. At that moment, I could tell exactly what she was trying to communicate to me. We arrived too early in the timeline.

We are beyond fucked.

* * *

Once I finished my dinner, which was lovely once I got past the fact that I was dining with Plegians; I took my leave with Severa. At first, Severa wanting to leave the mess tent with me was a bit surprising, but then I recalled her apprehension about being among Plegians in the first place. I guess it made sense for her to want to stick close to the one person she considers a friendly face among the rabble of soldiers. It's not like I could tell her no. If I was in her position, with the absolutely valid concerns she had, I would have done the same.

However, one thing that could not happen was for those concerns to accidentally come bursting to the surface. Unlike myself, Severa was never trained for stealth warfare. She was never trained to blend in with the environment around her, or to make the best of a difficult situation. Severa was more of a soldier than a scout; far more content to bash things in the face with her fist than tiptoe around the enemy to avoid confrontation. Yes, that would have to change fast. I could already imagine a Plegian making a rude, offhand comment about Ylisse and hearing about how Severa flipped out and throttled the poor guy. Donnel, Anna, all of the Shepherds, trusted me to make sure the children completed their mission. In order to complete the mission, they must survive.

Seeing as how we were a year early, survival just became a lot more complicated. My mind was still struggling to wrap around that fact.

One year too early, that was our unfortunate situation. From what little I had gathered during my reading in the Nixtas Library, Grima's rise occurred just after the end of the Valmese war. The Valmese war took place roughly two years after the Plegian War, and the Plegian war began in the year 1000 AS. Severa and I were stuck in the year 999.

_I still don't know what to do about it._

A heavy sigh left my lips as I strolled through the camp, with Severa right beside me. I glanced over at her for a moment and saw her cautiously looking at our dusty surroundings. More soldiers were filtering through the camp, making their way towards the mess tent as the sun sank low beneath the horizon.

The sky was shades of vibrant orange and crimson as the sun set. For some reason, despite the precarious nature of our situation, I found myself spellbound by it. When I first arrived in the past, and when I first woke up in the Plegian camp, I did not take the time to appreciate the sun. This was the first time I had seen it, in all its beauty, in months. A true sunset, with all the warmth and vivid color that one should expect from it. The sight caused my steps to falter.

"Samwise." Severa's sharp voice hissed, making me blink and look away from the horizon to her.

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna keep standing there like an idiot?"

I drew in a deep breath, "Right, right." I kicked some sand at my feet and thought for a moment. Severa still looked and sounded tense. I tried to think back to what made her feel better in the game whenever she got like this, but the memory escaped me. "You alright?"

"No, I'm not alright." Severa huffed. She peeked around us again. No more soldiers moved by us, since almost all of them, except for the camp sentries, were in the mess tent now. "We are in Plegia, we are a year too early, and who the fuck knows how we're going to fix this mess."

I pursed my lips, "Yeah, you've got a point. But, we cannot afford to freak out right now."

"I'm aware." Severa replied through gritted teeth, "What I'm freaking out over is how you're not freaking out too."

I furrowed my brow, mulling over her words a moment, "That- that doesn't make a lot of sense, but okay."

"For Nag-"

I cringed and quickly waved a hand at her, making her realize the name she was about to blab. Severa's mouth snapped shut, and a wave of relief washed over me. Her silence was short-lived though, as she amended her oncoming comment.

"Gawds," She raked a hand through her hair, a heavy huff leaving her lips, "we are a year too early."

"Yeah, we are. Need a distraction?" I replied, moving to change the topic. For me, whenever I started panicking, it helped to have the topic changed away from whatever was causing me to panic.

"Distract- why would I want a distraction?"

"If these were normal circumstances, what would you be doing?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

Severa furrowed her brow, puzzled, "Normal circumstances involved fighting Risen, Sam."

"B-Besides that. What would you do to relax?"

Severa gave me another confused look, but this time she said nothing. Instead, she thought for a moment, hummed to herself, then gave me a smirk that made a bad feeling churn in my gut.

"Shop." She said, putting plenty of emphasis on the 'p'.

I raised an eyebrow, "Shop?"

"Yup. And seeing as we don't have any money and-"

She didn't get to finish that sentence as I snagged her by the wrist and dragged her through the camp.

"Samwise, what the hell!?" She exclaimed.

"A certain merchant owes me," I remarked, making her eyes widen.

"You don't mean to-" Her words were cut short by her own, incredulous laughter. She tore her arm from my grasp, still chuckling even as she stopped walking a couple paces behind me. "You're going to try and get free stuff from Anna?" Her laughter grew louder and more mocking, "Are you crazy?"

I shrugged, "If I wasn't then this would never have been an idea to begin with."

Severa's laughter abruptly died, and she gave me an incredulous stare, "W-wait, you're serious?"

"You said you like to shop. So, let's go shop. Anna's the only merchant around here anyways." I rubbed my chin, smirking a little to myself as I felt my fingers running through whiskers. Back home I couldn't grow facial hair at all, and here I could. It feels pretty good actually. "I thought I overheard someone in the mess tent say she was over by the quartermaster."

"And where is that exactly?" Severa asked, her arms folded as she gave me a stern look.

I shrugged, "No idea. Guess we're exploring."

I spun on my heel and marched, the sounds of Severa's stupefied sputtering making me smirk. Part of me expected her not to follow, and to just storm off as she usually would whenever something like this happened. I was proven wrong when she stormed up beside me, her boots hardly making a noise in the soft, hot sand.

We wandered the camp for a little while, crisscrossing through the rows of residential tents set up for Mustafa's soldiers, passing by the bath tent, the stable tent, and the mess tent once again, before finally doubling back to the quartermaster's tent, which was conveniently located a little ways away from our tent, near the edge of the camp. Anna's horse and cart rested next to the tent. Since there was no activity around either, I was afraid that we missed our chance to at least look at the stuff Anna might have.

That changed as we drew closer to the tent. When Severa and I were a couple steps from the tent, I heard muffled curses being thrown back and forth between a man and a woman. A loud crash came from the tent, followed by much sharper curses, the clucks of several chickens, and the clattering of steel weapons.

That was when Severa charged into the tent, one hand on her sword.

"Sev!"

I charged in after her, worried that either we were about to stumble upon a fight, or that Severa was about to start one.

As soon as I entered the tent, I bumped into a dumbstruck Severa. For a brief second, I wondered why she had suddenly stopped in the tent's entry. She seemed hellbent on getting inside and attacking whatever Anna had been cursing at before. It was only when I saw the spectacular mess laying through the tent that I realized we had not heard a potential fight. We had heard the quartermaster being dressed down by the merchant.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Anna seethed as she sifted through a pile of broken crates, a bunch of cracked eggs spilling yokes onto the sandy floor. "Do you get it now, you utter nitwit!" She roared across the tent towards a balding man with one arm, a thin mustache, and a wrinkled face. "This is why you stack eggs on something stable!"

"I thought those containers were stable!" The older man, who I assumed was the quartermaster, retorted.

"Those were round and smaller than the egg cartons." Anna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Gods, do you have any idea how much product you've wasted."

The quartermaster shrugged, "It's not like we have to worry about paying for it. The crown supplies it all."

"And such a blase attitude about product waste makes me want to strangle you." Anna grumbled, before finally noticing Severa and I gawking at the mess, "Now look what you've done. You made me look disorganized. Do you have any idea how important organization is to my business?"

"These aren't even your products, Miss Anna." The quartermaster droned as he moved to pick up the broken cartons and crates. His aged eyes glanced over at Severa and I, "Be with you two youngsters in a moment."

"They may not be my products, but I'm stuck in this camp until those bandits are taken care of, and I don't have any of my own products to sell. So I'll be damned if I just sit around with a thumb up my ass all day."

"Sounds painful," Severa said, her nose wrinkled.

"Oh, you have no idea."

"Okay, then." I cut in, "How about we change the topic to something else." I glanced down at my tattered, torn, and singed clothes. Then I looked at Severa's less beat up, but still well worn, outfit, "Got any clothes?"

Severa perked up, "Clothes?"

Anna let out a groan, "The one time I don't have merchandise in this gods forsaken wasteland, and customers finally show up." She drew in a deep breath, slowly exhaling as she regained her composure. In an instant, her entire demeanor shifted, making my head spin as a bright smile passed over her face, "Clothes, hm?"

She moved towards me and Severa and circled us, humming to herself as she did so. A disappointed sound slipped from her lips, and I felt her flick the back of the thin shirt Morteza gave me.

"Yeah, you two need help."

"Hey!" Severa cried, offended.

Anna surged across the tent in the blink of an eye. Before I could even figure out where exactly she disappeared too, she emerged from another stack of crates in the far corner of the tent, a bundle of clothes slung over her right arm. Most of it appeared to be light and airy. Perfect for traversing the desert. Atop the more bland pants and shirts were various leather and scaled armors. The sheer amount of clothing on her arm boggled my mind.

_Was she always this strong?_

"Alright." She looked me up and down a moment, snatched a set of tanned pants, a long-sleeved, airy, sand-colored shirt, and a leather jerkin to go with it. The leather looked a little beat up, with some scuff marks in the padding.

"That should do for you." She remarked.

I blinked, "Don't you need to know my size?"

"I've done this long enough to know that someone as scrawny as you needs clothes that fit a boy."

Severa snickered next to me, only for her snicker to be cut off by Anna's judgment of her attire.

"Now as for you. Hm… you're trickier." Anna drew back, brow knitted as she thought for a moment. "The look you have is good but completely unfit for the desert, and Plegia in general."

"Unfit?"

"Do you want to bake in the sun?" Anna remarked. She flicked her fingers against Severa's sleeve, "What is that, cotton? Gods, it's a wonder you haven't passed out due to heat exhaustion yet."

"R-really?" Severa gawked.

"Yup." Anna remarked, "So, we need to do something similar, but at the same time allow your body to breathe a little bit. Hm… damn, I wish I had my silks still. You'll have to make do with mostly roughspun and linen, like the soldiers. I do like the yellows and blacks you have, although black won't help you much out here. Do you mind brown?"

"Uh…"

"We'll do brown then." Anna continued, snatching brown pants, a brown undershirt, and a yellow long-sleeved shirt for Severa. All of them were made of the same, lighter fabric that I had in my hands. Much better suited for handling the desert than what we had on in the ruined future. For good measure, Anna also tossed Severa a leather chest plate and bracers to go with her outfit, "And some armor to go with it."

"Why don't I get armor?" I asked as Severa looked wide-eyed at the bundle in her arms.

"Because you're so scrawny that none of the armor will fit you." Anna replied with a playful tone, "Ain't that right you old bastard?"

"I have a name!" The quartermaster replied.

"Yeah, yeah." Anna waved him off, "Don't worry about trying it on. If you don't like it, well… then you have poor taste. Regardless, that's probably the only freebie you'll be getting from the old coot back there so-"

"I can't just hand out stuff to anyone!" The quartermaster cried as he was stooped over picking up eggshells from the sand.

"Didn't you just say you didn't have to worry about the merchandise because the crown provides it all?"

"W-well yes, but-"

"Then it shouldn't be a problem." Anna shrugged, "Now then, both of you get going. I've got a lot of organizing to do in this trash heap, and not a lot of daylight left."

Anna spun both Severa and I around and shoved us out of the quartermaster's tent. The tent's entry flapped behind us as Anna closed it, signaling that the space was closed for the evening. As that happened, I remained motionless beside Severa, staring wide-eyed down at the bundle of clothes in my arms.

"What just happened?" Severa wondered.

I turned my head to her, "I have no idea."

Both of us made our way back towards the tent we shared, the one we both woke up in after arriving at the army camp. After the busy day, and the lingering effects of my injuries taking their toll, I was looking forward to lying down on the soft mat I called my bed.

"Sam."

"Yeah?"

"That's not the Anna I know."

Severa's comment made me snort, "No shit."

"Samwise."

"Yeah?"

"Language."

I ground to a halt in the sand, jaw hanging open as Severa marched past me and into the tent. Before she disappeared, she glanced over her shoulder, eyes narrowing at me.

"I'm changing, so you better stay out here until I say so."

"Why would I walk- you know what, never mind." I sighed, "Don't be too long please, I'm aching all over."

Severa didn't reply, and I rolled my eyes. Why did I get the feeling that this was going to be a long night with little sleep?

_If it's not Severa's fault, then it'll be because of the nightmares._

* * *

When I laid my head down to sleep, sleep eluded me. I wasn't surprised by this, as much as I was irritated. My entire body felt exhausted, my eyes were heavy, and I would benefit immensely from a good night's rest. But for some reason, I found myself unable to drift off. So, I lay there on my mat, staring up at the dark ceiling, listening to a gentle breeze running through the desert beyond the tent walls. My mind wandered as the quiet night lingered around me, with the only sounds echoing through the air being the wind and faint murmurs from Severa; who slept across the tent from me.

Was sleep eluding me, or was I afraid to sleep? The more I lay there, hands folded over my chest, the more I came to the conclusion that I was afraid to drift off. I was afraid to let my eyes close and allow my mind to be pulled away to a realm I had no control over. The last nightmare that darkened my dreams had a permanent residence in my thoughts and caused a knot to form in my throat as I lay still.

Part of me didn't want to think about the nightmare. However, what I wanted didn't matter to my brain.

Seeing my old home again was disturbing. Walking through downtown Appleton's streets felt so surreal, and at the same time, so vivid. Even now, I could feel my boots crunching atop ice-covered concrete. My arms and torso could feel the tight, warm embrace of my winter coat. I could even recall the brief sensation of warmth that passed from the old iPad I used for work, through my gloves, and into my frozen fingertips. My brain swore up and down that it was real.

Until it wasn't. Until I entered through the red door and delved into the shadows. The strange room illuminated only by cold, red fire in a musty fireplace. From there, the nightmare took a strange turn that puzzled me. At first, I sat across from a stranger in shadows, who was mocking me? Or perhaps taunting me?

No, the figure was doing neither. Did he sound baffled, yes? But he also sounded exhausted. Much like how I felt sometimes with the way my life has gone recently. Yes… very much like me, a realization that was confirmed when the dream's perspective shifted from my fresh-faced, unscarred self to the perspective of the shadowy stranger, staring down the healthier, twenty-two year old wearing a bright yellow, Yard Boys reflective vest.

_The dream was me. _I exhaled, trying my best to stay quiet so Severa could sleep. _Talk about a strange way of coping with everything._

But what did it all mean? Was it some sort of existential dread? Did I fear becoming the man in the shadows, scarred and broken? Or worse, was I already there?

A disgruntled sound left my lips, and rolled over onto my side, ignoring the aches and pains lingering all over my body.

_Less thinking, _I closed my eyes, _More sleeping._

I lay silent for a moment.

_What does it mean?_

I snarled, threw the thin sheet off of my body, and shot to my feet. It only took me a few steps to march out of my tent and out into the warm, night air. The Plegian camp was completely silent, save for the faint crackling of campfires that were now nothing more than cinders outside of the soldier's tents. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a pair of sentries moving along the backside of my tent. Neither noticed me leave it. Good, I don't exactly want anyone to see me right now. I just need a moment to breathe; a moment to walk around and gather my thoughts.

My feet shuffled through warm sand as I walked away from the tent and out towards the edge of the camp. As I walked, a cooler wind brushed over the sand dunes surrounding the camp, washing over my skin and giving me a surprising case of goosebumps.

Once I got to the edge of the camp, I stopped. Wandering any farther would look too suspicious, and would also be too dangerous. I doubted the bandits prowling the desert would dare to attack a Plegian military camp, but I could not be certain. Bandits, enemies in general, have a tendency to defy my expectations. So even though I wanted a moment to breathe and regroup, I still found my mind on high alert and my body tense, ready to react to any potential threat.

That wariness, that on-edge feeling, only made my frustration grow. With a heavy huff, I put my hands on top of my head and drew in deep breaths in another attempt to calm down. When that failed, I snarled, dropped to the ground, and tried to tire myself out with pushups.

After about the third rep, pain shot through my back, making me hiss and slump into the sand. A long groan slipped from my lips as ragged gasps shot grains of sand away from my mouth and nose. As I lay there, I failed to hear soft footfalls approaching.

What I did notice, however, was a heavy body taking a seat beside me. In an instant, I was upright again, ready for action.

"Easy now, boy." General Mustafa rumbled as he sat there, eyes looking out to the rolling dunes in the distance and the stars twinkling above them. "There's no danger near here."

My gaze hardened, "I wouldn't be so confident. Those bandits weren't that far from here."

"Luckily for you, hm?" Mustafa countered, "The thing about bandits, and the reason behind my lack of worry, is that they're cowards. They prey on the weak, and flee from the strong."

"I wish that was true all the time."

Mustafa raised a heavy brow, silently asking me to elaborate. However, I could not. To me, Grima may be an all-consuming, devouring force of evil, but he was also a coward. The more I looked back on the events of my life, and the terrifying things I've endured, the more I noticed a distinct lack of his presence in them. He was absent from Port Ferox, but that could be attributed to arrogance. He probably thought no one would dare mount such a dangerous rescue mission. He was at Arena Ferox, but he only attacked when he was certain of victory. Certain that no one could challenge his dominance. Finally, instead of meeting Tiki on an even field, he lured her into a trap, and only fought her when she was distracted with saving me and the other Shepherds. He didn't even have the courage to lead the attack on a helpless Ylisstol himself.

Was it arrogance, cowardice, or was he so sure of his intelligence and strategy that he felt he did not need to be involved? Regardless, he preyed on the weak for no other benefit than his own pleasure, and that made him a coward in my eyes. But did Grima ever flee from the strong? Last I checked, he did not flee from Tiki when their titanic clash occurred.

Mustafa must've noticed that I did not want to share anything and that I was grappling with the very thing I did not wish to share. Instead of pressing the issue further, his gaze returned to the desert.

"You've been through a lot haven't you?"

I cringed, "How can you tell?"

Mustafa shrugged, "Could've been the scars, or how frail you look, or your obvious paranoia." That made me snort out a dry laugh, "But I've sat where you are sitting. That is how I knew."

Mustafa's gaze on the horizon wavered, drifting down to his lap as he drew in a deep breath. One hand running along two bands he hand on his left hand. The first ring was on his ring finger, a simple gold wedding band. The second was a different ring. It wasn't flashy, or eye-catching. It looked almost like it was a ring made of out simple iron, and painted black.

"War leaves its mark, there is no changing that. The question that you must answer, is how do you respond to the mark it has left upon you." He finished, raising his gaze once more to the twinkling stars and the dune sea.

I drew in a deep breath, my gaze following the General's out to the desert. In the distance, I could see small clouds of sand being blown over the crests of dunes by the night wind. Each puff barely illuminated by the faint starlight and the shred of pale moonlight we had from the crescent moon.

"How should I respond?" I wondered out loud.

Mustafa drew in a deep breath and rose to his feet. One of his large hands ran over his face as he fought off sleep.

"That's for you to find out."

Without another word, the General marched away, his feet hardly making a sound as he strode through the sand. The only remnant of his presence with me tonight being the words of wisdom he gave me.

How was I going to respond to the hand life had dealt me? As I pondered this question, the final requests of two people rang in my mind. I could hear Anna and Donnel again, asking me to do something for them in their last moments.

I drew in a deep breath.

"Go to the past, help the kids defeat Grima, and save the future."

I ran a hand through the hair atop my head and puffed out a breath. Talk about what feels like a damn near impossible task. But, how else could I respond to what has happened? The nightmare warned me that I would see the hell Grima wrought on the world again. That I would live through the apocalypse again if I sat and did nothing, as I had done for a time in the future.

I need to act, but now that I'm a year too early in the mission, how could I?

My lips drew into a thin line, and I got to my feet. Both of my hands swatted sand that clung to my pants. One more time, I looked out to the Plegian desert before turning back to the camp, just catching a glimpse of Mustafa moving into his tent.

Of all the worst-case scenarios, Severa and I likely ended up in the best one. I knew this about General Mustafa now, after a very brief negotiation and our random chat that caught me off guard; he was indeed an honorable and fair man. A true anomaly in the Plegia that I knew about from the game. I could work with that kind of integrity. It meant that, so long as Severa and I did not arouse suspicion, we would survive, and that is a step in the right direction.

A long, loud yawn slipped from my lips, and a wave of weariness slammed into me. I massaged my eyes with my hands as I turned and marched back into the camp. When I reached my tent, I could hear faint snores coming from inside. Severa was sound asleep.

_At least one of us got a decent night's rest._

I slipped back into the tent, crawled back onto my mat, and drew the thin sheet over my aching body. As my head sank back against the ground, my heavy eyes closed, and my breathing evened out.

_Let's try this again._

**And chapter! Much more character heavy, less plot or action heavy chapter this go around. Gotta do lost of setup, and it's going really well actually. Having a lot of fun doing it, and I hope all of you are having fun reading it. I'm definitely going to have fun digging into more of Plegia and doing some worldbuilding for it, since we didn't get a lot of that in the main game. Oh, and as for this chapter, Sam and Severa arrived too early... even more obstacles to their mission. That should make things interesting, and it means they'll have to figure things out for a little while. And... Sam can't rely on his game knowledge since there isn't a lot of info for him to go off of right now. He's in for a wild ride indeed.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

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**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast_! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We talk about Fanfiction, Writing, Fire Emblem, and other stuff that we find interesting. You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!**


	42. Crows in the Desert

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 39

Crows in the Desert

"Be gentle!" I hissed through clenched teeth as one of the Plegian physicians prodded the many gashes along my back; evidence of stone shrapnel tearing through my body during the battle at Mount Prism. Not that the healer, or General Mustafa, needed to know that. As far as they were aware, I got them when the bandits who captured me used a spell to knock me out. It was a plausible enough explanation and one that the Plegians accepted without much curiosity.

And, since Severa and I were now technically part of the camp, and considered mercenaries assisting the army, General Mustafa wanted one of his physicians to take a look at us. Severa had outright refused, of course. The only thing she admitted to having was a slight concussion she suffered upon arriving in the past. Given her generally abrasive demeanor, the physician assigned to both of us agreed to not examine her. I, however, was not so lucky.

I hissed again as the healer, a middle-aged man by the name of Ebrahim, poked a tender spot on my back. Just as I was about to yank my gaze around to snap at him again, he spoke up in an irritated tone.

"Quit your whining." He grunted as he reached into a pouch he brought with him and withdrew a small bottle filled with a gelatinous, purple substance. "Just be grateful you've got me looking at you and not some Grimleal. Or worse, a Ylissean."

Severa wrinkled her nose at the disparaging tone the man used when he mentioned Ylisse, but one glance from me reminded her to keep her offense to herself. The last thing we both needed was to piss off the best medical professional in the camp. That would go over _great_ with General Mustafa.

Despite my visual warning, Severa took a breath and spoke; making me tense right as Ebrahim uncorked the bottle.

"What makes a Ylissean healer worse than a Grimleal healer?"

Ebrahim snorted, "A Grimleal healer; that's a good joke. As for why a Ylissean is worse: have you ever seen one before?"

Severa opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, I cut into the conversation. We had to maintain the cover I was still meticulously making up with each conversation. Honestly, the more I did this, the more disturbed I became at how easy lying like this was for me.

"From Valm, remember?"

Realization entered Ebrahim's eyes, "That's right." He nodded, the cloth mask over the lower half of his face waving, "Forgot about that. You're a couple of mercenaries, yes?"

I nodded as Ebrahim swirled the substance in the bottle. As it swirled, it lost a bit of its gelatin quality, becoming a bit more like a filmy liquid instead.

"Don't need any more of those in the army, if you want my opinion. But, if the General allows it, who am I to complain?" He prodded my back again. An action that I was beginning to believe was on purpose just so he could cause me pain. "As for Ylisseans healers being worse than Grimleal, it's more of a professional stance for me. I trust what I can see. I trust what I can make with my own hands, and I know that the elixirs myself, or any good alchemist, make are easily better than those ridiculous staves the Ylisseans like to use. Staves, after all, can be a bit difficult to judge and master. But a potion? That is something any commoner can pick up."

Ebrahim drew in a breath as he sprinkled the liquid on my back, making me hiss as the cold elixir ran along my warm, raw wounds. I grit my teeth and noticed Severa give me a concerned glance before she quickly looked away.

"Also doesn't help the Ylisseans are Naga worshippers. Can never trust a Naga worshipper. Although, one cannot fully trust one of those Grimleal dogs either."

I arched an eyebrow at that last statement, "No love lost between you and the Grimleal? Aren't you supposed to… I don't know, like them. I thought this was their land."

"They like to think that," Ebrahim replied as he finished pouring the contents of the bottle over my wounds. With one hand, he gave my back a rubdown, making me wince as sharp, burning pain washed over my body.

My hands balled up into tight fists in my lap when Ebrahim rubbed my back one more time, making sure to rub the entire elixir into the wounds. I knew he was just doing his job, but damn it I wanted to curse him for aggravating everything back there. However, as always, I had to tread carefully. Living among the "enemy" required much more courtesy than living among friends. So, I bit my tongue in order to prevent anything regrettable from leaving my lips.

Hiding the pain from these treatments failed to work on Severa though. I could see her brow furrow as my face turned a multitude of colors; from an angry red to a weak pale, before finally returning to its normal hue as the immediate pain faded away.

"It hurts that bad?" Severa asked, her arms folding over her chest as she leaned against the center pole of our tent, which used to be the main medical tent until we arrived.

"It's not pleasant," I muttered.

After a couple more prods from Ebrahim, he nodded and reached into his pouch again. A second bottle emerged from his pouch, this one filled with a familiar blue liquid.

"Drink a third at every meal." He ordered as he rose to his feet and closed his pouch, "I shall return in the morning with another vial."

"Thanks," I grumbled.

Ebrahim did not reply as he marched out of the tent, finally leaving me and Severa alone. Severa tilted her head to the side, likely straining her hearing in order to make sure Ebrahim had actually walked away. Then she nodded and took a step away from the center pole.

"He's a bit cold for a healer." She said with a frown, her eyes darting to the tent entry, before returning to me.

"He's not our kind of healer."

Severa shrugged, "True, but that doesn't mean he can't act like he cares. I know Brady had to do that whenever one of us got hurt doing something stupid."

I pulled my shirt back over my body, then grabbed my new jerkin and shrugged it over my shoulders. As I buttoned the jerkin, I chuckled a little bit.

"Are you admitting that you did something stupid to deserve a scolding from Brady?"

"N-no! Gawds, I've been injured before but not because of something stupid. That was always Owain and Cynthia's thing." She flicked one of her long, red twin-tails back over her shoulder as she spoke. "Besides, Brady never had the balls to scold me to my face."

"Mhmm, sure," I replied, not believing her for a second.

"Says the king of getting injured for stupid reasons." Severa retorted, "Need I list them off?"

That earned a wry, pained chuckle from me as I finished tightening the jerkin over my thin torso, "No need. Already well aware of them."

"That's what I thought," Severa replied, though not as smug as I would've thought. She won the conversation, but at the same time, she didn't look very happy about it. Her eyes flicked down over my jerkin before flicking away towards the entrance, "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Plan?"

"Yeah, since you've been so full of them lately." Severa snipped, "What're we doing today? Going to talk with that Plegian General? Perhaps mingle with the very soldiers who will try to slaughter Ylisse in a year's time? Oh, maybe they have more goats to eat. Because that was incredibly delicious." She finished with a shiver of disgust.

I uttered a heavy sigh and gave her a weary look, "Sev…"

"Don't Sev me." Severa shot back, "What exactly are we doing right now, Samwise? I mean, I get why we aren't trekking across the desert on our own. That would be stupid, and-" She bit her lip a moment, as if admitting what came next was physically painful for her to do, "and you were right to tell me that before. But why the hell are we helping them? We owe them nothing-"

"We owe them quite a bit, actually. Or have you forgotten that these Plegians have fed us, healed us, and given us shelter?"

Severa drew back, silent.

"Anna would never let a debt like that go unpaid, so neither will I." I continued, "Besides, I've got a bone to pick with those bandits."

Severa cocked an eyebrow, "Oh really?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line, "They took Anna's brooch."

Severa furrowed her brow, "Anna's brooch?"

"It may sound trivial to you but… well, what if you had something of Morgan's and a bandit took it from you."

"That bandit would've died first." Severa snarled.

"Exactly." I nodded as I got to my feet, boots moving silently over the rug covered sand. I moved towards the small trunk next to the center pole of the tent and grabbed my belt from it. In one sharp motion, I cinched the belt around my thin waist, one hand tapping the pommel of my kukri as I did so. "And think of it like this; our cover right now is mercenaries, right? Helping them out not only keeps that cover intact but will also get us paid. Which means-"

"We'll be able to shop for better clothes than these rags," Severa said with a mild hint of disgust as she pinched the bristly sleeve of her new shirt.

"Or, we can buy our way into a caravan heading out of Plegia. Traveling with one of those will be safer once this is all over with anyways. Who knows, maybe we stumble on one of our friends that way?"

Severa mulled over my words for a moment, arms folded, her fingers dancing along her sleeves with a quiet tap, tap, tap. Finally, a heavy, defeated sigh left her lips and she nodded.

"Fine, we do it your way. I assume this means I need to keep being nice to these people?"

"Yup."

A long groan left her lips, "This is going to be a pain."

"The best experiences almost always are." I replied with a wry chuckle, "Now, I have no idea what to do for today. So what did you have in mind? Other than high tailing it out of here."

Severa hummed to herself, flicked her eyes over to her sword and scabbard by her bed, then marched over to it. She strapped the scabbard around her waist, checked the ties on her leather bracers, then spun around, motioning for me to follow her out of the tent.

"You want to take care of those bandits, then we need to get you into fighting shape."

I drew back a little, "I'm already in fighting shape."

Severa barked out a laugh, "Oh really? Tell me, Samwise, if I fell in battle would you be able to pick me up and carry me away from the enemy?"

"I've carried Lucina before-"

"And that was before you had most of your damn body waste away. I mean, look at you. You've grown into a skeleton since the sacking of Arena Ferox. Besides, carrying Lucina isn't that hard. I've seen Laurent do it before."

I grimaced. She wasn't wrong there. Even my nightmares knew I was wasting away into nothing more than a few shreds of meat on sticks. Seeing that gaunt figure from the nightmare in the house back home sent shock waves through my very being, and it haunted my thoughts whenever I did try to sleep.

Maybe it is time to start taking care of myself a little more.

"Alright, what did you have in mind?"

A disturbing grin spread over Severa's lips, and I had a feeling I was going to regret going along with whatever she had planned for me.

* * *

I hit the sand hard, scrambling along my belly as I spat grains from my lips. Aches and pains flourished throughout my arms and legs. Sweat beaded on my face like condensation on a cold glass of water. My jaw clenched tight as I tried to push myself back to my feet. My hands sank into the hot sand, and I managed to get onto my knees before, flopping over onto my back, gasping for air.

"I give!" I exclaimed, squeezing my eyes shut as I sucked in as much of the hot, desert air as I could, "No more, please."

Sand shifted near my head, and I opened my eyes to see Severa looking down on me, a smug grin plastered over her lips. A thin veneer of sweat also covered her face, although her breathing was much more controlled than mine. Her arms folded, and she shook her head.

"No wonder you couldn't survive Frederick's training."

A long groan left my lips as she stepped back, giving me room to prop my sore body up on my elbows. I drew in another deep breath and gave her a sidelong glare as her smug grin turned larger.

"You're enjoying this way too much."

"I haven't been allowed to beat up anything while we've been here, Samwise. Forgive me for seizing the opportunity."

"Ah yes," I gasped, rising to a crouch and hanging my head as I took another moment to catch my breath, "beat up the wounded guy in order to have fun. Truly a great way of showing you care."

"You know it." Severa snorted as she spun away, twin-tails swaying behind her as she stepped a few paces from me, "Ready for round four?"

I fell back on my butt and shook my head, "I think you won the two out of three contests."

Severa arched an eyebrow, "But I won three in a row."

"My point exactly." I smacked my dry lips and realized how dry my throat felt, "Don't suppose you know where to I can get some water around here?"

"Shouldn't you know that?"

I rolled my eyes and finally got back up to my feet. As I got up, I peered past Severa towards a small cloud of sand and dust that had brewed near the crest of one of the dunes surrounding the camp. It was to the south, and while the dust cloud did not grow in size, it was rapidly drawing closer.

Severa screwed her face up in confusion when I did not reply to her little jab. She figured out why I didn't when she also turned around and eyed the oncoming dust cloud.

"Don't suppose you know what that is?" She asked.

I shrugged, "It's getting closer, so we'll find out soon enough."

It had to be something, or someone important, because General Mustafa and Captain Raad both emerged from their respective tents. Both men were cleaned up and wore polished armor. Although General Mustafa still remained bare-chested, except for the bone shoulder pauldrons and leather bandoliers over his torso.

Mustafa was a towering behemoth when he stood beside Captain Raad. The General's second-in-command was shorter, leaner, and wore scaled steel armor that shimmered in the sun with layers of indigo linen beneath it. A much richer attire than what the General wore. Their weapons against their hips were polished and sparkled in the brilliant sunlight.

Both men stood in front of the General's tent, eyeing the dust cloud. When I returned my gaze to the dust cloud, I finally saw what was causing it.

It was a carriage pulled by the of the biggest lizards I had ever seen in my life. They looked like wingless wyverns, only with less scaly and more slimy skin. Long, forked tongues flicked from their lips every few feet, as if they were tasting the air as they ran. Black beady eyes sat in their long skulls, and I couldn't tell if they noticed me or not as the carriage shot by me and Severa.

The carriage wasn't much to behold. A simple cart really, but it was painted indigo and gold. Thick curtains blotted out the interior from prying eyes, making it impossible to see who exactly was inside of the carriage.

As the carriage came to a stop in front of General Mustafa and Captain Raad, I saw the Captain shift nervously while the General tensed. Whoever was in the carriage had to be someone very important.

The carriage must've opened on the other side because it disguised whoever exited and followed Mustafa and Raad into the General's tent. As quickly as the carriage came to a stop beside the tent, the driver snapped the reins, uttered a sharp command, and the lizards bolted towards where the company's two wyverns were tied up.

_Better to keep the lizards together than put them with the camels. _I mused.

"Who the hell do you think came in that?" Severa wondered out loud.

I shrugged. As I shrugged, and reset myself to spar with Severa, I heard a shrill caw come from the mess tent not far from the training grounds. My eyes flicked towards it, and I spotted a lone crow picking at its feathers with its beak; cleaning the dust from its dark body. Another crow joined it, making me furrow my brow.

_Since when are there crows in the desert?_

"Samwise!"

"Hm?"

A fist plowed into my jaw. Stars flashed in my vision, and I fell hard onto the sand. A long groan left my lips, and I let my head sink back into the sand even more.

Once again, Severa stood over me, a smug smirk on her lips.

"Four in a row."

"Cheap shot."

"Do you know what Sir Frederick would-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I grumbled, faintly hearing Severa chuckle as she strode back over to her spot across from me. I sniffed, rubbed the growing bruise on my job, then raised my fists. "Alright, let's try this again."

Severa nodded, her smile evaporating as she raised her fists and bent her knees. Her red eyes narrowed, and in an instant, her more playful side was replaced by a killer instinct that made me swallow hard.

The more I sparred with Severa, the more intense she became in our bouts. In our first match, she treated it more like a warm-up. Her movements were relaxed, borderline lazy. Her punches lacked bite, and she didn't move with the fluid quickness I saw on the battlefield. It allowed me to last for a while against her, and gave me the false impression that could match her in hand-to-hand combat.

The second match was over in about two minutes, with Severa moving faster and more powerfully. She still looked relaxed, but an edge crept into her gaze during that match. As if she didn't see that she was sparring against me, but rather sparring against someone else. The same was true in our third match, which saw me sprawled belly down in the sand.

This time though, as we readied for our fourth match, there was a snarl on her lips. Burning anger radiated from her as she glared at me, making me hesitate as we circled each other. That hesitation caused me to lower my hands and falter in my steps, concerned.

"Sev, are you-"

Severa surged forward with a quickness that made my head spin. I barely sidestepped a vicious straight right, which was quickly followed by a kick aimed at my left side. I grit my teeth as Severa's left boot collided with my right arm, making me stumble to the side, right into a waiting jab that snapped my head back.

Before I could recover from that punch, an uppercut collided with my chin, making my jaw snap closed with a harsh clop. Even as I stumbled back, about to fall again, Severa continued her assault, planting one more punch right into my nose.

A loud pop rang out, my eyes watered, and fell back to the ground. I let out a sharp cry as pain washed over my nose. When I reached up to it, my fingers came away bloody.

"Damn it, Severa, that was-"

She pounced. My eyes widened as Sevear straddled me with murder in her eyes. One small fist rained down, smacking against my check and snapping my head to the side. Another fist cracked against my chest, drawing a sharp wheeze from my lungs. My eyes bugged from my skull as Severa did not let up.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I managed to catch a glimpse of Severa's face behind the raining blows. Her eyes were wide and furious. Her lips trembled as she snarled down at me. That was not the face of a friendly sparring partner. That was the face of someone aiming to kill me.

So, with no other options on the table, I reacted with as much force as her. Anna and Gaius taught me to fight dirty, and that is exactly what I did.

My right hand grabbed a wad of sand and I flung it into Severa's eyes, drawing a sharp cry from her. That one attack gave me a small opening. I was not stronger than her, but that did not mean I could not turn this situation around. I shifted beneath her, positioning my body to flip her over.

Severa anticipated this despite being briefly blinded by sand. Her instincts were sharp, and she easily countered my adjustment, falling right into the emergency back up plan I had.

I brought my bony knee up as hard as I could against the small of her back. Severa grunted as she jostled forward. That's when I jerked my head up and smacked my forehead against hers. A harsh crack rang out, and a loud cry left her lips. Severa's eyes blazed with fury, and a knot formed in my throat as I watched her go for the sword at her hip.

I was about to follow through with my counter-assault when someone wrenched Severa off of me, throwing her to the side. Through my blurry vision, as I propped myself onto my elbows, I spotted a second redhead facing Severa.

_Anna?_

Severa roared, drew her sword, and rushed at Anna. Anna did not make a sound. The merchant sidestepped the enraged girl, tripping her up and making Severa collapse into a heap in the sand. Severa scrambled to her feet and slashed at Anna; only for Anna to draw her shortsword, parry the blow, spin Severa's sword from her grasp, and nestle the tip of her blade right beneath Severa's jaw.

Severa froze. The tension and fury in her body ebbed away as ragged gasps left her lungs. The edge and fury in her gaze faded. Horror replaced it when her eyes flicked from Anna, to her sword, then over to me, and I must've been an ugly sight for her to look so horrified. Her chin quivered, but not with barely restrained rage. She looked mortified, embarrassed, and terrified all at once.

"I-I-"

"Samwise," Anna called over to me, her sword not even trembling as she kept the tip placed against Severa's throat, "Say the word."

I blinked, "Say the- no! No need for that."

Anna gave me a quizzical look, "She just tried to-"

"A misunderstanding, I'm sure." I followed up as I got to my feet, both hands dusting sand from my clothes, "She didn't mean to."

Anna furrowed her brow, and her sword remained at Severa's throat.

"From where I stood, she meant to."

I pursed my lips, "Like I said, it was a misunderstanding." I drew in a deep breath and rubbed my forehead, wincing as it ached from the headbutt, "Just put the sword down. I'm not mad at her."

Anna eyed me, then returned her gaze back to Severa. Severa remained frozen, her eyes glued to the sword at her throat. With a sigh, and a long scowl, Anna lowered her blade. Severa sagged forward, one hand moving up to rub her throat. Anna sheathed her sword and turned to me, frowning.

"You two better get your shit together. Especially if you'll be helping the General take down those bandits."

I gaped at Anna as she strode away, "How do you know that?"

"I have my ways."

Without another word, Anna left the training grounds. As she walked away, I noticed a small group of Plegian soldiers had gathered outside of their tents, gawking at me, Severa, and Anna. They quickly moved out of Anna's way as she marched through the tent, then returned to staring at me and Severa. Severa, meanwhile, remained frozen in her spot.

I grimaced at the wary and concerned gazes coming from the various Plegian soldiers.

"Well?" I asked, "Never seen a fight before? Go on. I'm sure you all have stuff to do."

They lingered for a moment longer before returning to whatever tasks they were doing. I eyed them all for a minute after that, making sure that none of them would ask any questions, before wincing and bringing a hand to my nose again. My fingers came away slick with blood, and my nose stung even worse than before.

"God, Severa you really pack a punch."

Severa shoved her ways past me, moving as fast as she could without running back towards our tent.

"S-Sev?"

There was no sharp snap from her. Not even a snide remark. Instead, she kept her head bowed, eyes down at her feet as she marched to our tent. I stayed where I stood a moment, mentally debating whether I should go after her.

In the end though, I decided to give Severa her space. I had no idea what happened, or what caused her to lose control of herself the way she did during our spar, so I felt very ill-equipped to try and speak to her right now.

Now more than ever, I wish I had someone to talk to about this sort of thing. More than that, I wish one of the Shepherds was here to speak with Severa. Not one of the children, although they might be able to help her, especially Lucina; rather, one of the parents. I remembered how Anna spoke to Severa at Mount Prism's Temple, after Morgan's death. What exactly did Anna say to her to help her? Part of me wished I had a bit more sneakiness in me in order to eavesdrop on that conversation. Maybe if I knew how Anna had approached her, I would know how to handle this situation.

A heavy sigh left my lips, and I kicked a mound of sand at my feet. In the end, it's probably best to leave her alone for a little while. With that in mind, I turned to the mess tent and decided it would be a good idea to get an early lunch. Take a breather before executing the usual training exercises taught to me by Gaius and Anna. Those would get me back in the right mindset after what happened.

_Nothing like getting some food after getting my ass handed to me. _I thought as I moved into the mess tent, the thick aroma of a spicy stew hitting my nose. _Besides, if I want to actually stand a chance in a fight, even with Severa, I need to get some meat back on my bones._

* * *

It was a few hours later when I finally worked up the courage to return to the tent. During that span, I ate a very nice lunch, of which the cooks gave me a larger portion, and did training that I was much more used to. While I couldn't do the most taxing exercises Anna and Gaius taught me, such as swinging around my kukri at a training dummy or more strenuous physical movements; I still managed to get a nice round of shadow boxing in as well as a leg workout. Strangely enough, out of all the places that were injured in the battle at Mount Prism, my legs were spared from significant damage. That was a good thing, because it meant I could at least take care of myself.

I had managed to work up a decent sweat when I got back to the tent. The blazing Plegian sun and the exercises managed to wipe me out, and I was looking forward to a cooling wash down with a wet rag in the camp's "bathhouse" after checking up on Severa. She had not emerged from the tent at all the entire time I remained on the training grounds, and that had me concerned.

I paused in front of the tent entry, drawing in a deep, tired breath as I raised my hand to knock. Only to smack myself on the head with that same hand as I realized there was nothing to knock on. Instead, I leaned in a little closer to the tent, and spoke.

"Severa, you in there?"

I heard a sniffle, but otherwise, no response. My lips thinned and I sighed.

"Well, hopefully you're decent, because I'm coming in."

I stepped into the tent, and to my shock, Severa was not alone in the tent. Sitting across from her, on a small wood stool while she sat on her bedroll, was Captain Raad. The younger officer leaned back in his seat as he spotted me enter, dark eyes moving away from Severa and to me.

"I was wondering when you would return." Captain Raad commented while Severa kept her eyes down at the floor, "Your friend and I were discussing today's earlier incident."

A sharp rush of anger shot through my heart. Who was this guy to come talking to Severa about an incident like that, one that he had no context about? However, I made sure to quell that anger.

"Oh?" Was my simple reply as I moved towards my bedroll and the small trunk that had been moved into it earlier today. I reached into it and withdrew a small, dry towel as well as a change of clothes. As I opened the trunk, I nearly jumped out of my skin as I spotted a crow perched on one of the beams keeping the tent roof aloft, "Doing that without me?"

I kept my tone neutral, but I could see Captain Raad's lips twitch ever so slightly. Seems he picked up my hint.

"I apologize if I caused offense in doing so, but I wanted to gather information on the matter from both of you privately. I worried that that fight was sparked by some ill words or feelings between the two of you. Often it is easier to sort those sorts of things out with separate conversations before bringing the two parties together for a truce."

I snorted as I closed my trunk, "I can assure you that there were no ill words spoken or sore feelings involved. Our spar got a little out of hand. That is all."

Captain Raad rose to his feet, finally causing Severa to raise her eyes at his sudden movement, "Miss Severa insists the same thing. However, I cannot tolerate such distress within the ranks."

I raised an eyebrow at that, "Fights happen in armies all the time Captain."

Captain Raad nodded as he paced towards the center pole, one hand stroking his neatly kept beard.

"You're familiar with armies, Samwise… what is your surname again, if you have one that is?"

Captain Raad was digging for information, and I knew it. But why would he want more information about something as trivial as the brawl between me and Severa? Anna broke it up, and she allowed Severa to walk away unharmed. No one else had confronted me about the matter.

Actually, no one, except for General Mustafa, had bothered to investigate me and Severa. Even then, the General's investigation of our personal lives was cursory at best. A precautionary measure, laced with a warning, just so he could keep his men safe and make sure we were not bad actors in his army. He didn't care about surnames or mistakes, as much as he cared about how we would benefit his army's mission.

Captain Raad appeared to be the opposite. Given that I was in Plegia, the land Grima was going to rise from, I did not want to give him any information. However, I also knew that I had to placate him somehow. A surname could work, but not my real one. What to do?

I thought fast, and I had to resist the urge to smirk.

"Baggins," I bowed at the waist, "At your service."

Captain Raad let out an amused sound, "Do you mock me, Baggins?"

"Not at all." I replied, keeping my tone neutral, "I am simply answering your question. Care to answer one of my own?"

I noticed Severa flicked her eyes back and forth between the two of us. Captain Raad meanwhile, rested his hand on his sword and nodded.

"Did the General send you to speak with Severa?"

The Captain's lips thinned behind his dark beard, and I smirked inwardly. He wasn't expecting such a direct question. Perhaps he was thinking I would counter his request for a name with one of my own? Or maybe he thought I would demand to know what he and Severa talked about? Regardless, he was off balance. A dirty play disguised as a genuine one.

"No." He admitted, dark eyes giving me a wary look, "He did not."

"Oh…" I replied, "Well, forgive me for saying this, but I'd prefer if we speak with him on the matter. That is, if there are any further concerns."

"The General doesn't have time-"

"We are contracted to him as mercenaries, not to you, _Captain_," I replied, emphasizing his rank. Now I was starting to tremble in my boots a little bit as I saw his eyes narrow dangerously. I was walking a precarious line, "If there is actually a problem, I'm sure General Mustafa will make time to address it. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to my friend before heading to the bathhouse."

Captain Raad's fingers tapped the pommel of his sword as he pondered my request for a moment. Then with a small bow of his head, he exited our tent. No cordial farewell, or apology for intruding, just a cold exit.

_I have a feeling that conversation is going to come back to bite me._

I drew in a deep breath and glanced over to Severa, "You okay?"

She gave me a dark glare, and I nodded.

"I'll take that as a no."

Severa snorted indignantly, "Obviously. And before you decide to get into another verbal spar with the Captain, my mood isn't his fault."

I grimaced, "I hoped that was the case, and I'm glad that hope was right. Still, can't be too careful."

"Whatever happened to being nice to these people?"

I arched an eyebrow at her, "Wasn't I nice?"

"About as nice as Brady is whenever I do something stupid and get hurt."

A wry smile cracked over my lips, and Severa chuckled quietly as well. She hung her head a moment, her elbows resting on her knees as she practically hid behind her legs.

"Samwise, I-"

"Don't worry about it," I said, dismissing her concern with a wave of my hand.

"But I-"

"You didn't do it on purpose. I know that, you know that, Anna knows that… at least now she does. Hopefully the Captain and General know that too. There's nothing to apologize for."

Severa pursed her lips. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but I saw her shake her head and utter a heavy sigh.

"I assume I missed lunch?"

"You did. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to bring you any. Tried to, but the cook told me one meal per soldier." I chuckled a little as I slung the towel over my shoulder, "I think he suspected I was trying to sneak seconds."

"You need them." Severa replied, "I'm surprised I didn't snap you like a twig earlier." She leaned back, relaxing and emerging from her little cocoon behind her knees, "What was it?"

"Stew."

"Goat stew?"

I gave her a grin, and she stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"It's not that bad."

"Bear is better."

"Morgan would agree with that." I jabbed back with a playful smile, only to see Severa's small grin falter. My heart lurched as melancholy washed over her. Quickly, I cleared my throat, "S-sorry about that."

Severa waved off my apology, "I'll be fine. Gawds, I'm not some easily offended maiden."

"Are you sure about that?"

That earned me a dangerous glare, and I raised my hands in surrender.

"I'm off to the bath-" Two Plegian soldiers in scaled armor entered our tent, and I froze. My shoulders sagged and I took my towel from my shoulder, "I'm not gonna get a good wipe down today, am I?"

"General Mustafa requests your presence, Mister Baggins." One of the soldiers said before glancing at Severa, "As well as yours, Miss Severa-"

"Daraen," Severa replied, her voice cold to the soldiers. She rose to her feet and marched to the exit, "You coming, Mister Baggins?"

I let out a nervous chuckle, nodded, and tossed my change of clothes and towel onto my trunk. Wordlessly, I followed Severa and the soldiers out of the tent and into the fading light of the Plegian day. Evening was coming fast, which meant winter must be drawing closer. I could already feel a slight chill on the wind coming from the north.

It did not take us long to reach the General's tent. When we arrived, the guard told us to wait outside while he informed the General that we were here. After a couple moments of waiting, the guard told us we could enter. Severa stepped in first, and I followed. What hit my ears next send a sharp chill running up and down my spine.

Mad cackles. The kind of evil chuckles that belong to an insane scientist hiding out in a dark laboratory, or to the Joker. Joining the cackles were the excited caws of a pair of crows perched on the edge of Mustafa's desk.

Standing beside Mustafa's desk, wearing a purple and gold Grimleal cloak, a gray shirt that hugged his thin frame, and a gold and purple sash around his waist, was a man that I didn't think I would ever see again. Hell, I didn't really want to see him ever again. His white hair was enough to make all the color drain from my face. Combine that with that creepy, broad smile he always wore, and it was enough to make my knees knock. His more youthful appearance did little to quell my nerves because, behind that youth, I could see the terrifying mage he would become.

_Henry._

His appearance had the same effect on Severa. She froze beside me, red eyes wide with shock, fear, and… was that some relief?

_I guess there could be a worse Grimleal for us to have the misfortune of running into._

"Good, you're both here, and on amicable terms." General Mustafa droned as he sat in his seat behind his desk, Captain Raad standing beside him. Off to the side, leaning against one of the tent poles, stood Anna, glancing down at her fingernails in boredom

Henry chuckled, and one of his crows cawed. I nearly jumped out of my boots as a third crow zipped into the tent, swooping low enough to nearly graze Severa and I with its feet. That crow landed on Henry's shoulder. It's beak nestled near his ear, and Henry's quiet chuckles turned into loud, amused laughter.

"Yes, General. They certainly are amicable. It appears there is no _caws_ for concern when it comes to their working relationship."

And he doubled over laughing, as always.

General Mustafa shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Yes, that is good to hear. Anyway, Samwise, Severa, meet the newest member of our company. This is Henry Volk, an advisor I requested from Doluna. He will be assisting us in our mission to wipe out the bandits plaguing these lands."

Henry giggled, "And it will be my pleasure to do so. It's been a while since I was allowed to play with my magic on actual living bodies. The temple had to give me a temporary ban last time. Things got a wee bit too messy, and well, I wasn't interested in cleaning it up at the time. Didn't want to soil my new robes."

I gave the young mage an incredulous look, one that he relished in as he beamed at me.

"And you," He pushed off of Mustafa's desk, disturbing the crow perched on his shoulder as he did so, "must be the one that escaped those dastardly bandits. Oh, you will have to regale me with tales of your bloody, violent escape."

Severa gave me an uneasy glance. I wasn't sure if it was intended for myself, or for Henry, but I assumed she meant to show her anxiety about being near the mad mage. So, in order to get out from beneath Henry's dangerous curiosity, I cleared my throat.

"Not much happened, really. I believe we have something important to discuss?"

"Yes, that we do." Mustafa rumbled from his seat.

The corners of Henry's broad smile twitched as his gaze lingered on me for a little longer.

"We'll have to talk later, then." He twirled around, purple cloak spinning with his form with much flair, making his crows squawk out their praises, "You may begin, General."

Mustafa sighed, "Right. Captain, what was the latest intelligence from our scouting parties?"

Captain Raad grimaced, "Same as always, General. The Wyverns saw nothing in the desert, while our foot parties caught a trail only for a sandstorm to block any progress."

Henry snickered off to the side, "I think I'm starting to understand why I was sent here. You have a mage problem."

Mustafa nodded, "Correct." He then glanced at me, then over to Anna, "Do you recall seeing any mages in their hideout?"

I shook my head, "I wasn't awake long enough, or in a good enough headspace, to get the whole picture. I do recall my two jailers, who were… well they were a pair of idiots, which might be why they were part of the few left to guard the place."

"Goz and Mez," Anna chuckled, folding her arms over her chest, "What a couple of dumbasses. You didn't kill any brain cells when you bashed their skulls in Sam."

I grimaced, "I only bashed one in and he didn't die."

"A shame," Henry muttered.

"Anyways, I apologize, General, but I did not see any mages." I finished.

Mustafa's brow furrowed, and he glanced over at Anna again. The merchant shrugged, dashing the General's hopes for better intelligence.

"If they did have mages they never ventured back to the cages." Anna said, "I do know that they have pretty decent numbers. Easily three dozen of them, so there could be a mage or two in their ranks."

"Any number of mages will make it difficult to combat them." Captain Raad pointed out, "Especially since their magic can make their troops appear and disappear with ease. In order for us to take down these bandits, we need to dispose of the mages."

Dark snickers came from Henry.

"Why Captain Raad, are you suggesting an assassination mission?"

Severa's eyes widened and a lump formed in my throat. I glanced nervously at General Mustafa, whose hands were folded in front of his face. He closed his eyes, a heavy breath leaving his lips.

"Anna, can you find your way back to the bandit's hideout?"

"Assuming they're still there, yes," Anna replied with a nod.

Mustafa hummed. He rose from his seat, hands folding behind his hulking form as he paced a couple steps out from his desk. He went over to a chest, withdrew some sheets of paper and an inkwell, and tossed them onto his desk.

"I will be informing the crown of these actions." General Mustafa grunted. He gave Captain Raad a withering looking, "And I will tell them that our Grimleal adviser was the one to suggest this plan."

The Captain shifted nervously beneath the General's glare, nodded, and drew in a deep breath.

"So, who will be partaking in this assassination."

"The group who are familiar with the hideout." Mustafa grunted, making the lump in my throat grow to the point where it felt like it was hard to breathe, "Henry will be accompanying them. It will have to be a small group that can get in and out of their camp with ease."

"Which I can do." Anna commented, "But I don't know about that one."

She nodded over to me, drawing all eyes over to my anxious self. I swallowed the ball in my throat, drawing in a deep breath, and meeting Anna's stare with one of my own.

"I think I'll surprise you."

Anna shrugged, "We'll see. Hopefully, you can actually use a weapon."

I nodded, "Yeah… hopefully."

Mustafa nodded, "Very good. Captain Raad will inform Morteza and Nader of our plan. All of you will have tonight to prepare. You will be leaving at dawn. Anna will drive you."

_Lovely. _I thought as I drew in a deep breath, shifting my weight from one foot to the other as more of Henry's mad giggles filtered into my ears.

"Hold on." Severa piped up, making me tense, "I want in on this."

Mustafa raised an eyebrow, "And why would you want to get involved in a mission that you do not need to be involved in?"

Severa's eyes darted to me. It was a look that demanded that I back her up. She already expressed how nervous and uncomfortable she felt in the Plegian camp, and that was with me by her side at all times. Besides, I had no objections to her joining the mission. She had already proven herself capable of sneaking around enemy territory, and she was a far better fighter than me. Perhaps she could help out more than the General thought.

"Where I go, she goes." I said, "We're a team."

Captain Raad gave me a quizzical look, which I ignored. General Mustafa, meanwhile, studied both Severa and I from behind his folded hands. He drew in a deep breath and let out a weary exhale.

"Very well. You all leave at dawn."

With a nod, we were dismissed. Captain Raad and Henry lingered in the General's tent while me, Severa, and Anna exited. Anna didn't say a word to us as she marched to her cart. Meanwhile, Severa and I trudged back to our tent, silent. Once back in our tent, Severa drew in a deep breath.

"I'm getting some sleep. Wake me when we have to go." And without another word, she flopped onto her mat and closed her eyes.

"Sounds good," I muttered before sinking down onto my own mat and glancing around the tent.

I didn't have much I needed to do to prepare for the mission, other than take the last of the vulnerary the healer gave me, and get some rest. So, with that in mind, I downed the last few swigs of the vulnerary, laid down, closed my eyes, and returned to the nightmares plaguing my sleep. Only now, I heard a crow cawing in the night.

**And chapter! We're gonna pick things up in the upcoming chapters a little bit. A small side mission in order to build relationships and ingrain Sam and Severa among the Plegians is coming up, and it is going to be fun (hopefully). It's been very interesting getting back to these more character centric chapters after how quickly the plot moved along in previous chapters. A nice change of pace and it is helping me figure out where these characters are going in the story. Also, poor Sam, Henry found him and likes him... again. I'm looking forward to writing more interactions between those two. Also, credit to RedXEagl3 (author of _Aberration_) for allowing me to use Daraen as Severa's last name, since that is the last name for his Robin in his SI fic and I had a very hard time thinking of a better one.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Come check out the Fanfiction Treehouse Discord Server! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**Also, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast_! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We chat about fanfiction, writing, Fire Emblem, and whatever other nonsense we feel like talking about. You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	43. A Night in the Desert

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 40

A Night in the Desert

Dawn came too soon. Naga, it felt like I didn't get any rest. I felt like a shambling pile of bones as I trudged through the loose sand around Anna's cart, helping Morteza and Nader load supplies into the back of her cart. As I hefted a sack of grain onto my shoulder and tossed it into the cart, I spotted Anna off to the side. A book and a piece of charcoal rested in her hands as she watched us load her cart. An action I was used to seeing, and it brought a small smile to my lips.

_Taking inventory. Some things never change._

"Just what do you think you're smirking at?" Anna muttered, her eyes not leaving the book as she turned a page.

I jumped where I stood, felt blood rush to my cheeks, before quickly tossing the sack into the cart. Only to miss the cart and instead accidentally drop the sack on my foot. A sharp hiss shot from my lips as I hopped up and down in the sand, clutching my foot as it throbbed from the sack crushing it.

A stream of curses slipped from my lips as well. Enough to grab the attention of Morteza, who was organizing all the supplies inside of the cart.

"Are you alright, Samwise?"

I groaned, "No, but it's my own damn fault."

"You mean your wandering eye's fault," Anna muttered as she strode by me and around the cart, making her way to her seat in the front.

I rolled my eyes a little but said nothing in return. If I said anything she'd likely wheel around and give me a solid punch to the jaw. Especially if she was the same Anna I knew from the future. Still haven't figured that one out yet. Anna did mention having two sisters a while back, so maybe this Anna was one of them. Either way, I'll probably find out eventually. For now, I needed to keep my focus on the task at hand.

I picked up the last sack of grain and tossed it into Morteza's waiting arms. With a grunt, Morteza set it on top of the others, wiped sweat from his brow, and looked down at me.

"That all?"

"That's all."

"Good." Morteza nodded as he hopped out of the cart, rubbing his hands together, "For such a small man, you've got decent strength."

"I'm not that small," I replied, cracking a smile as Morteza clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"I can cup your entire shoulder in my hand, so you're small. But don't worry, my friend, I'm sure the cooks will fatten you up soon enough."

"If you survive this mission." Nader droned as he stepped up into the cart, ready and waiting for us to get underway.

Morteza rolled his eyes, "Nader sometimes… Samwise is the one who broke us out of the damned prison for Grima's sake."

As Morteza jumped up into the cart, I glanced back over my shoulder and spotted Severa marching towards the cart. She was still asleep when I woke up, and I decided to let her catch a few extra winks. Judging by the scowl on her face as she stormed through the sand, that was a poor decision.

"Are you trying to leave me behind?" Severa hissed as she shoved her way past me and pulled herself up into the back of the cart.

"N-no, I-"

"You left me to sleep in!" Severa snapped. Inside of the cart, Morteza and Nader crept a little closer towards the front, both of them shifting around some jars of stew from the previous evening's meal.

"I thought you needed the sleep," I replied with a shrug.

Severa glowered at me, "Does it look like I needed the sleep?"

"Judging by how grouchy you are, yeah."

Severa grit her teeth, clenched her fists, then flopped down to a seat in the cart, muttering to herself something I could not hear. Although, I was pretty sure I heard her trademark "gawds" as she grumbled. All I could do was shake my head, turn away, and keep watch for the final member of our little squad.

_Where the hell is-_

A crow landed on my right shoulder and bellowed the loudest caw I had ever heard in my life directly into my ear.

"Christ almighty!" I cried, even as amused cackling rang out nearby. As soon as I heard those cackles, the crow cawed again and flew towards Henry.

The Mad Mage strode through the desert sand, walking atop the loose grains as if they were solid stone. An uncomfortable grin was plastered on his pale face, as always. Most of his face and head were shadowed out by the hood of the cloak he wore. As for why he chose to wear a hood, my only guess was that he wanted to protect himself from Plegia's blazing sun. I couldn't blame him for that either. I could already feel the familiar stinging sensation of a sunburn building up on my neck and my nose.

"It appears one of my crows _cawsed_ you quite a fright," Henry remarked, snickering after he spoke. His barely visible blue eyes smiled at me with a curious gleam.

"No shit." I huffed. I noticed he wasn't getting in the cart yet, but instead staring at me… again, "Well?"

Henry gestured to the cart, "After you, my frightful companion."

I shifted where I stood, and looked to Severa for some help. Instead, she kept her gaze in her lap, leaving me to deal with Henry alone.

_Why do I always have to deal with the crazies?_

With a sigh, I stepped up into the cart and took a seat beside Severa. Henry hopped in right after me, moving towards the front, which was the shadiest and coolest portion of the cart. He sat down next to a small box of clothes and allowed one of his crows to perch on his shoulder as he pulled a pouch filled with corn from his robes.

"Way to leave me out to dry," I muttered to Severa.

"You think I want to deal with him? I didn't even want to talk to him in the future." Severa whispered back.

"Well, a little back up would've been nice."

"Back up for what?" She frowned.

Before I could answer, Anna's head poked through the canvass at the front of the cart.

"Everyone ready to go?"

"Everyone is accounted for and ready to set out, Miss Anna," Morteza responded.

At the same time, one of Henry's crows cawed and bobbed its head up and down. Anna gave the crow a suspicious glance, then nodded.

"Good."

Without another word, she returned her attention to the desert that lay on our path. I heard the reins snap. The cart jostled beneath me, horse hooves trudged through the hot sand, and the wheels groaned as they rolled.

I drew in a deep breath and sank back in my seat. My arms folded over my chest and I closed my eyes, content to catch a few extra hours of sleep while we rumbled through the desert. I had a feeling it would be at least a day before we reached the bandit's hideout, and when traveling in Anna's cart, there was not much else to do but sleep.

* * *

I managed to sleep for a while, but as always, the nightmares woke me up. This time, my mind plagued me with images, sounds, and feelings from Port Ferox; one of the first missions I had in the future.

That mission felt like it was a lifetime ago, and yet, as I ran recent events through my mind, it was only a few months ago. That was probably the most alarming thing for me, as I sat in Anna's cart, stewing in my thoughts.

All of this craziness has taken place over a short few months. Despite it being such a short period of time, I could not help but feel like time had been stretched out. Maybe that was a result of me feeling worn out and worn down by the constant threat of death? Or perhaps it was due to the trauma I had endured, which was unlike any I had experienced before in my life. I mean, I doubt forgetting to study for a test in high school, or going to my boss and telling him I got no leads for him today, could compare to having to fight for my life against literal zombies.

I snorted to myself. While I had been bombarded by a desperate fight for survival there were still bits of my old world that I remembered and that amused me. Hell, I recalled how so many people wished a zombie apocalypse would happen just to end the monotony and absolutely stupid society I lived in. Now that I've actually lived through it, I can honestly say that those people are idiots.

There's nothing glamorous, fun, or exciting about fighting zombies. The nightmares that accompanied them reinforced that belief for me.

I uttered a heavy sigh and glanced out the back of the cart, surprised to see the sun setting below the horizon. Brilliant rays of red and orange washed over the clear desert sky, making it look like the sky had been set on fire. A warm wind blew over the sand dunes, causing grains of sand to kick up from the crests like ocean spray atop waves. It would've been a beautiful sight if it wasn't so rudely interrupted by the insane snickers coming from the front of the cart.

I slowly turned my head in that direction and saw Henry, the only other person awake in the cart, peering back at me from beneath his dark hood.

"Sleep well?" He asked, voice slithering into my ears, making my skin crawl.

I grimaced, "Could've been better."

Henry snickered again, "The only good sleep a man gets is death, and that's because it's the only one he never has to worry about waking up from."

I gave Henry an incredulous look, causing him to tilt his head to the side.

"What? Don't understand such a thing?"

"No," I replied, "I'd much prefer staying awake to falling asleep anymore."

Henry snickered again, and this time his crow squawked loudly.

"I know," Henry nodded, seemingly speaking with the black bird ruffling its feathers on his shoulder, "He has no idea."

I furrowed my brow, "No idea about what?"

Henry flashed me a wide grin. A much too wide grin. The kind of grin that would make the Cheshire Cat wonder how the hell his face stretched that wide. Or, maybe the shadows of his hood caused his bright smile to appear larger than it actually was. Fear played a factor too, we can't forget that bit.

"Oh, you know," Henry began, his voice lowering to a sinister whisper that caused goosebumps to form on my skin, "While nightmares are terrifying, they are only that: terrifying. You never have to worry about them actually harming you. But the things you can see outside of your mind, now those are the ones you must worry about."

Again, I gave Henry a mildly disturbed look.

"What things would those be?"

Henry's grin grew crooked, "Oh… nothing."

_That's not ominous at all._

My heart leaped in my chest when I felt the cart grinding to a halt at the base of a large sand dune. As it came to a stop, the others in the cart stirred, with Severa letting out a small noise as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Gawds, I'll never get used to sleeping in this thing." Severa blinked more sleep from her eyes before turning to me, "Did you just wake up?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Damn, you missed lunch and stuff," Severa grumbled.

My eyes widened. I missed lunch? I didn't even notice until Severa brought it up. Now that food was on my brain, instead of Henry's usual creepiness; I could feel my stomach rumbling. Considering I had a light breakfast today, I was surprised that I didn't feel more hungry.

"Better get camp set up," I muttered, jumping out of the cart.

Morteza, Nader, and Severa followed me out. Henry lingered in the cart for a while longer. As I emerged from the cart, Anna marched around from her seat at the front, looking a little tired. A pink tint rested on her face thanks to the harsh sun, and a thin layer of sweat rested on her brow. Other than that, she didn't look any worse for wear. A stark difference to the Anna I knew in the future, but being twenty years younger allows someone to fight off a lot of aches and pains.

"Alright," Anna clapped her hands together, "How's everyone holding up?"

Morteza cleared his throat as he rubbed his lower back, "Well, my back is-"

"Wonderful to hear!" Anna chirped, cutting him off, "One of you get something out of the cart to eat. And, you, Samwise."

"Hm?" I eloquently replied.

"Help me get a fire going."

I blinked, "H-help you-"

"Yes," Anna remarked, her chipperness replaced by a flash of annoyance, "Am I speaking a foreign language or something? Come on, we don't have all evening. I'd rather have a fire for when the temperature drops tonight."

"Right, and firewood is-"

"Cart."

"Got it."

I marched over to the cart. Henry's insane giggling greeted me as he and his crows exchanged words. As inconspicuous as I could manage, I found a small bundle of wood, weathered some curious glances from Henry, then carried the wood over to the others. Nader already grabbed a couple of jars of stew and a pot.

As I returned to the others, Morteza stepped towards me and took the wood from me.

"I'll get this started, you and your friend worry about keeping an eye out for strange things."

"Strange things?" I echoed.

Morteza grimaced and glanced back at the cart, "I don't trust that Grimleal."

_You and me both, and I know he's one of the good guys. _I thought, but I decided to keep such things to myself.

So, I simply nodded in agreement and took a seat while Morteza sparked a fire. Once the fire got going, Nader started cooking the stew, while Severa and I kept watch. Anna took this opportunity to rest.

The sun had set by the time dinner was hot and ready to eat. Stars innumerable dotted the inky sky. Not like I glanced up at them much. I was more focused on the bowl of stew resting in my lap. After missing lunch, and taking my first bite of dinner, my appetite turned ravenous, causing me to scarf down my meal.

As I was about to take my last bite, Morteza cleared his throat. The spoon hovered near my mouth as I flicked my eyes up to see everyone looking at me, stunned.

"What?"

Morteza chuckled a little bit, "For someone as thin as you are, you eat like a damn hyena."

I froze. There are hyenas in Plegia? Since when was that a thing? Morteza must've noticed the terrified look on my face because he chuckled again and patted my bony shoulder.

"Don't worry, they're down south." He stirred his broth with his spoon, "In these sands, all you have to worry about are the lizards and snakes."

"Oh, yup, rattlesnakes." Anna commented, swallowing a bite of stew, "Nasty things. Seen my fair share of caravaners die to their bites."

"Then there's the scorpions." Morteza nodded.

Severa froze while eating, "Scorpions?"

"Just as nasty as the rattlesnakes," Anna answered.

"Don't forget the Dune Spiders." Nader droned, tone as dry as ever.

Now it was my turn to freeze. My bowl hovered near my lips right as I was about to sip on some of the warm broth. My hands shook as images of a massive, aggressive spider entered my mind.

"Dune what?" I croaked.

"Ah, I remember those now." Anna remarked, setting her bowl to the side, "Yeah, we need to keep an eye out for those just as much as bandits."

I swallowed hard. My spoon tapped against my wood bowl as I set it to the side. A shaky breath rattled in and out of my lungs.

"And uh… how big do those spiders get?"

Anna arched an eyebrow, "Why? Afraid of creepy crawlies?"

Severa whipped her head over to me. Meanwhile, I pursed my lips and tried to swallow the fear that threatened to come streaming from my throat.

"Depends on the-er- size of the creepy crawlies."

Severa hung her head, "Oh gawds, you're afraid of spiders."

"They are eight-legged monstrosities!" I exclaimed.

Both Morteza and Nader fell back laughing. Anna snickered as she scooped a bite of stew into her mouth. As for Severa, she stared at me, mouth hanging open as an embarrassed blush rushed over my cheeks. Thankfully, it was dark enough that none of them could see how red my face was.

"Oh?" A fifth voice entered the conversation, "Are we discussing spiders?"

I froze, and the laughter coming from Nader, Morteza, and Anna died in their throats. All of them stared wide-eyed at me. Or, rather, they were staring at someone standing right behind me. I knew exactly who it was when I heard the soft flap of wings nearby.

"Henry…"

The Dark Mage snickered, then flopped down beside me, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap. The others did their best to not look directly at Henry, which did them little good, since the guy didn't notice how everyone didn't want him to address them.

So when he cleared his throat, everyone stiffened.

"Stew?"

Anna raised her gaze and met Henry's smile with a strained one of her own.

"Of course. Hungry?"

Henry snickered, "No."

Severa blinked, "But you haven't eaten-"

"Anyways, Henry," I interrupted before Severa could open up whatever pandora's box regarding Henry she was about to open, "You're interested in spiders?"

_God damn it brain._

"Oh yes. All kinds of arachnids are of great interest to me. Recluses, Widows, Granddaddy Long Legs-"

"Granddaddy what?" Severa croaked.

"Oh don't worry, they're harmless." Henry said, "Dune Spiders though," Mad cackles left his lips, "that's a painful way to go."

My throat felt dry all of a sudden. I drew in a deep breath as I tried to calm my racing heart. In my mind, I prayed that the others would just drop the topic altogether. Unfortunately for me, Anna seemed more than happy to continue asking questions.

"How painful?" She asked, setting her bowl to the side before folding her hands in her lap.

Henry blinked, "Well, pain is a difficult thing to measure. What's painful for me might actually be excruciating for you."

"On a scale of say… a thorn jamming into your finger to being stabbed in the eye."

"That is awfully specific." I gulped.

"Oh!" Henry perked up, "Well when you put it that way, stabbed in the gut."

"Ouch." Anna deadpanned while Severa paled. I, meanwhile, hung my head and uttered an exasperated puff.

"Indeed." Henry nodded, "Think about it. Dune Spiders crawl through the dunes, through tunnels they bore in the earth itself as they hide from the sunlight. Then, when night falls, they appear to hunt. To feast on whatever poor sap is wandering these dunes or wanders too far away from their fire." His blue eyes flicked between Severa and I as both of us paled. For some reason, the shadows beneath his hood appeared to deepen despite the crackling fire, "Their hunger is well known. Do you two Valmese know how they feast?"

Both Severa and I shook our heads.

"First, the Dune Spider incapacitates you." His voice dropped low again, almost to a growl that sounded out of place for the unnervingly cheerful mage. "A quick jab into your body with its stinger and the poison begins its work. You lose feeling in your limbs instantly, then flop to the ground like a little toy doll. Then it really begins its nasty work."

Even Anna's small smile ebbed away as Henry began explaining. Morteza and Nader looked uncomfortable, with both of them glancing around to the dunes surrounding us, as if they were keeping watch for the very monster Henry was describing. Severa shrank in her seat, her red eyes staring down in her lap as she stopped nibbling on her dinner.

"It'll grab you with its fangs first. Must get a good grip on a fleshy meal, after all. Then its legs clutch you as a thick stream of spider-silk, strong as any rope, churns around you. Then you begin the death spin." He rotated his hands one over the other, mimicking the motion, "And as the silk wraps tight around you, you can still see everything, feel everything, but you can do nothing. Finally, it wraps your head up last, because the last thing a Dune Spider wants is for its meal to be dead from suffocation before it eats."

Severa's hands trembled where she sat. I gave her a worried look, and considered telling Henry to stop. Before I could, Anna spoke again, although with a lot less curiosity in her voice. Instead, I heard some fear.

"Why's that?"

Henry snickered, and the crow on his shoulder cawed, "Dune Spiders, like all arachnids, feast not on flesh… but on blood. Oh yes, it is not a death where its fangs tear you limb for limb. That would be much too quick. It wants fresh, warm blood to drink. It will lap on your veins like a dog drinking from a rancid puddle. You'll slowly shrivel up as it feeds on you. It will not be a quick death, but it will also be fast enough that nothing else will claim your life. Thirst, hunger, pain, none of those mercies will come. The last feeling you will have is the last bits of blood leaving your body as you become a dry husk to be disposed of and left for buzzards to pick at." He snickered where he sat, eyes lighting up with delight as he observed the horror etched on our faces, "Gruesome, yes?"

"I'm going to bed," Severa mumbled, setting her bowl to the side and marching back to the cart.

Normally, I would have said something. I should have called to Severa to make sure she was alright. This time, for some reason, I found myself frozen and incapable of forming words. I was completely captured by Henry's horrible spell of a story. As were Anna, Morteza, and Nader. None of us could form words until finally, Nader cleared his throat.

"How do you know this, Grimleal?"

A dangerous sparkle shot through Henry's eyes as his head snapped in Nader's direction. Through the flickering shadows cast by the fire, I thought I saw the ghost of a snarl cling to the corner of Henry's mouth as he glared at Nader.

"Experiments of course."

"Okay," Anna clapped her hands, breaking the tension with a strangely content tone, "I think that's enough for tonight. I'll take the first watch because I want the longest uninterrupted sleep I can get."

Henry blinked. Whatever malice he had felt towards Nader instantly forgotten.

"Sleep?" He glanced up at the sky, spotting the stars dangling in the moonless sky, "Huh… I guess it is that time. What do you think, Crow?"

The crow cawed, and I raised an eyebrow.

"His name is Crow?"

Henry snickered, "For now. He's a new one." He gently pet the bird's head with two fingers, "Smart bird too. I've already taught him several tricks."

I tilted my head a little to the side and caught sight of the bird's beak looking a little flat and blunt.

"He's got a bill."

Henry nodded, "I know. That's why I like him the most. He's unique."

"You could name him Bill."

Henry stopped petting his bird. I worried I might have offended the mage until I saw that wide grin spread over his lips and his eyes light up with delight. A fit of insane laughter erupted from his lungs, startling everyone, even his bird.

"Bill!" He threw his head back and cackled some more, "Perfect!"

Henry's blue eyes flicked to me and his grin widened.

"I had a feeling I'd like you, Samwise Baggins." He rose to his feet and grinned over to his bird, "What do you think, Bill? Shall we go to sleep?"

Bill squawked, and Henry nodded.

"Agreed." He glanced at all of us again, "I bid you all a goodnight."

As abruptly as he arrived at our campfire, he retreated to the cart. As he got to the cart, Severa hopped out with a bedroll nestled in the crook of her arm. She promptly set her bed up beside the cart, laid down, and went to sleep. Morteza and Nader shortly followed, leaving Anna and I alone by the fire.

When I didn't get up and go towards the cart to sleep, Anna gave me a curious look.

"Not tired?" She asked.

I shrugged, "Got plenty of sleep during the ride. So if you want to-"

Anna shook her head and eyed the desert around us, "Can't sleep yet."

My brow knitted as Anna flicked her head back and forth, as if she was looking out for something. Which would make sense. She did volunteer to take the first watch tonight. However, the Anna I knew was always so calm when taking watch. Never skittish, but always alert. Perhaps that was a result of more experience? Or, was something getting to Anna as well?

"Henry?" I asked, testing the waters a little bit.

Anna's eyes hardened on me for a moment, then she let out a quiet sigh, "Damn Dune Spiders give me the creeps."

"Oh, so you're scared of spiders too?"

"I'm scared of dying, which is very likely if you come across one of them." Anna retorted, "What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Is it the spiders, or the dying bit that gets to you?"

I shrugged, "Can't it be both?"

Anna snorted, "Maybe. Then again, you didn't show much desire for self-preservation during the escape from the bandit's hideout."

That comment made me lean back in my seat and toss a confused look at the merchant. A look that Anna noticed right away.

"You didn't get out of the way of that arrow."

"Ah, that." I grimaced, "Guess I froze."

"Froze huh?" Anna uncrossed her legs and leaned back on her elbows, finally allowing herself to get a little comfortable beside the fire, "I hope that doesn't happen often."

I snorted out a laugh, "Every so often."

"Will it get me killed?"

I winced, "Only if you let it."

Anna regarded me quietly for a moment, as if she was studying how serious I was about my reply to her question. When she saw that I wasn't joking around, she gave me a slow nod.

"Well, at least you know to stay out of my way when shit goes sideways. Which makes me wonder..." She hummed to herself, putting a finger to her chin as she thought for a moment, "have you run into one of my sisters before?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Sisters?"

"It's just, well, most people are a bit thrown off by my more direct questioning and demeanor. Especially when I'm not in 'sell everything in the cart' mode. But you haven't even flinched at it. Makes me think you've come across a member of my family once before."

I shrugged, "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't."

That caused a wry smirk to cross her lips, "Now you're going to make me pry for information."

"Is there any other way of getting information?" I replied, spreading my hands out to the side, "You're supposed to be a skilled merchant, so you must be good at getting a read on people."

Anna chuckled, "And now you're challenging me. Death wish?"

"Hardly. Just a little bored."

"And now you're calling my conversation boring." Anna inclined her chin, but I didn't miss the amused twinkle in her eye, "You have more of a death wish than you think. But, whatever, I'll indulge your little attempt at being mysterious."

Anna cleared her throat, leaned forward in her seat, eyes peering at me from the other side of the flickering campfire. One of her slim hands ran over her mouth as she furrowed her brow. Meanwhile, I sat perfectly still, hands sinking into the warm sand by my sides.

"You're no soldier." She muttered, "Which makes me question the validity of your mercenary claim. At the same time, you're no stranger to killing, because you hardly flinched when you ended that bandit's life during our escape attempt."

The corner of my mouth twitched. Anna gave me a knowing look.

"Oh, that actually does bother you. You just do a good job of burying it. A non-soldier who is able to do what is necessary, but doesn't like it. You're a rare breed, aren't you?"

"I was taught by rare people," I replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"Had to be, because most people, especially with the way things have been in Valm, are not averse to ending someone's life when needed. Most don't bat an eye to that sort of thing anymore, least of all those in that conquered land."

"Been there recently?" I countered.

Anna shook her head, "Gathered that from the most recent letter I got from my older sister." A small laugh of disbelief left her lips, "Strangest one I've gotten in a long time too. Apparently, she ran across some tall thespian and decided that was the one for her. An Anna, settling down at such a young age. You'd think the world turned upside down."

"Really?"

Anna nodded, "Not even thirty yet. Don't know what would compel anyone to just plant their feet in one place and not go out into the world anymore like that? And for… oh." Her head hung low as quiet chuckles left her lips, "Nice try there, Samwise. You got me distracted."

"Did I?"

"You did." She smirked, "Now I know you've run into one of my sisters. Tell me, which one told you that I could be ensnared by gossip?"

"Hmm…" I rubbed my chin, snapped my fingers, and smirked, "Her name was Anna."

Anna rolled her eyes, but some laughter still bubbled from her lips, "Well played. So, where was I?"

"Non-soldier, taught by rare people."

"Right, there." Anna replied, clapping her hands together, "So, what I've gathered is that you're not a soldier. You're not even a mercenary. You know how to fight, but you don't know enough to hold your own unless you get the jump on someone. Considering that you've survived this long, that means you must be good at the latter since you're not that great at the former. Normally, I would guess some sort of occupation involving assassination, but given how much you dislike killing, I'll go for the next best thing. You're a thief."

A broad smile formed on my lips, "Got me."

Anna's eyes narrowed at me, making my smile waver. In fact, her gaze became so piercing that I felt a knot form in my throat due to how tense it made me. Her brow furrowed and she jabbed a finger at me.

"Don't even think about trying to snatch any of my stuff."

The knot in my throat evaporated, replaced by laughter. My reaction must've caught Anna off guard, because her brow rose in confusion.

"Don't worry about that." I said, dismissing her concerns with a wave of my hand, "I've already tried stealing from an Anna before, and it did not go well."

"Ah-ha!" Anna exclaimed, "I knew you knew one of my sisters! Tell me which one. Older? Younger? Or maybe Mother?"

I snickered under my breath, leaned forward in my seat, my arms now resting on my knees as I felt completely relaxed for the first time in a while.

"That's for you to figure out. Now, I have a question for you?"

"For me?" Anna replied, "What would you want to know about me? Before you ask: no, I will not give you any discount on anything."

I snorted, "Figures, but that's not my question." I folded my hands and put on my most serious face, "Opinion on potato soup?"

Anna's nose wrinkled, "That bland stuff?" My heart skipped a beat in my chest, "I mean, I'll eat it if that's all there is. But why would I go for potato soup when I can have a good stir fry, or better yet, a delicious sandwich."

I could not believe it. Out of all the bandit hideouts in all the world, time, and space; I wound up in the one with her in it. This was the same Anna I knew from the future. She had the same reaction to potato soup whenever we had to eat it before. She would begrudgingly eat, of course, but only after I either forced her to or she had become so hungry that she could not wait for anything else. Although, I had no idea she enjoyed sandwiches that much.

"Ever tried it with cheese?" I asked.

Anna tilted her head, "Soup with cheese?"

"You'd be surprised."

She worked her jaw back and forth as she thought for a moment, "Alright, why not. I'll try it next time. Now I-" A yawn slipped from her lungs, catching both of us off guard. After the yawn, she shook her head and rapidly blinked, "Whoa, that came out of nowhere."

"No, it didn't." I replied, "Get some rest. I'll handle the first watch."

A small frown flashed over Anna's face, but it was also chased away by another long yawn. A quiet groan followed the yawn as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Alright, fine. You win, Baggins." She muttered, rising to her feet, "Wake me in a few hours."

With that, she marched to the cart and hopped into it. Opting to sleep in the safety of her cart rather than on the sandy ground. Not that I blamed her. Henry's story about Dune Spiders must've rattled her just as much as it disturbed the rest of us. I had a feeling that tall tale distressed Severa a great deal. Then again, she seemed on edge a lot lately. Perhaps it was not the best idea to just leave her alone when this happened.

_I'll talk to her soon. _I reminded myself as I relaxed where I sat, my eyes watching the flames dance.

As the fire crackled, a warm wind blew through the desert, causing some sand to shift atop the dune we camped at the base of. A small cloud of granules descended the dune, moving like a thin fog along the ground. I watched it move, then froze as I spotted some sand shift beneath the rolling fog. My hands shot up to my eyes. I gave them a harsh rub, before glaring at the spot where I saw the sand move on the dune.

It was still.

I gulped, and any relaxation I had was gone.

_Dune Spiders are just a story, right?_

**And chapter! A little side quest for Sam and Severa to go on. They've got to repay Mustafa's generosity somehow, right? It's gonna be fun, especially since we're getting some enjoyable little character moments between everyone involved. Also allows me to get some practice in when it comes to worldbuilding, which I've always struggled a bit at. Overall, quiet chapter this time, but I've got action written down next chapter. After all, Sam and company have some bandit mages that need to be assassinated.**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

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	44. Where You Hang Your Enemy's Head

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 41

Where You Hang Your Enemy's Head

The bandit hideout was located about a day and a half east of Mustafa's camp; inside of a small range of squat, bare mountains riddled with caves, tunnels, and an endless web of caverns. A perfect place to hide for those of the criminal persuasion. I had to admire the intelligence of whoever was leading such a detestable group as I lay on my belly atop one of the dunes near the mountain range, eyes scanning the base of the mountains for any sign of their hideout.

Sweat beaded on my brow, dripping over it and burning my eyes. One of my hands reached up and wiped my eyes, only for the process to repeat itself all over again. I whispered a curse as the blazing sun continued beating down on my head. Naga, I wish I had my hooded cloak still. At least the hood would've shielded me from the damn sun. Instead, all my head could do was bake as I stayed low to the ground, trying to peer through droplets of sweat at the mountains.

I heard sand shift to my left and right. Both Morteza and Nader crept up to the top of the dune, their dark eyes studying the base of the mountains as well. Morteza's lips turned into a frown as he observed the cracked, dry peaks.

"See anything, Samwise?"

I snorted. "This far away, no."

"Can't get much closer without winding up out in the open," Nader grumbled, gesturing to the duneless desert leading up to the mountains. "They'll easily spot us."

I nodded, turned over on my back, and glanced up at the sky. If I judged the sun's position correctly we were an hour or so from sundown. Already the sky looked like it was a bleeding wound, with scarlets and oranges drowning out the blues.

"Any idea which cave we came out of, Nader?" Morteza asked while I rolled back onto my stomach.

Nader scoffed. "You think I paid attention to which one when we fled for our lives?"

Morteza turned his head, brow furrowed. A heavy breath left his lips and he shook his head. "Fair point. I don't expect you to know either, Samwise."

"I'm still amazed I was able to fight my way out of there, in all honesty," I muttered, scooting down the dune so that I could no longer see the mountains. I smacked my dry lips together and thought for a moment. "We at least know their cave is at the base of the mountains, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to drive out of it easily."

"Good point," Morteza nodded.

"So that narrows it down to about half a dozen caves," Nader grumbled.

"And we also know they light fires, like a bunch of idiots," I pointed out.

Nader fell silent, and faint laughter bubbled from Morteza.

"We wait until dark then," Morteza said, sliding back down the dune a few feet before hopping to his feet and marching to the cart at the base of the dune.

Nader and I followed him. As we approached the cart, I spotted Severa pacing beside it, her hand kneading the grip of her sword while her other hand sat on her hip. Anna, meanwhile, had a brush in her hand as she scraped grains of sand from her horse's shaggy coat. I could see her lips moving as she mumbled to herself. If I knew her at all, she was mumbling curses regarding the sand, the heat, and probably the company she had to keep. Frankly, I didn't blame her. I'd be cursing under my breath too if I wasn't afraid Henry would overhear it with one of his crows.

Speaking of the madman, he sat on the back edge of the cart, head obscured in shade. Bill the Crow perched on his knee, feasting on kernels of corn Henry had in a sack. As I approached the cart, Bill stopped pecking at the corn in Henry's hand and cawed, feathers ruffling as I moved towards Severa.

Severa gave the crow a wary look as I stopped beside her.

"Recognize which one you came out of?" Severa asked, her eyes still focused on Henry and the crow. Henry was completely oblivious to her gaze.

I shook my head. "They all look the same."

"So how are we going to find them?"

I brushed sand from my pants. "We're waiting until sundown. They may be crafty bandits, but they have their fair share of idiots. When me, Anna, Nader, and Morteza escaped; we spotted bonfire remains in the cave."

Severa turned to me, puzzled. "How does that help us?"

"Because we can see the firelight at night, that's how," Anna remarked as she moved to the back of her cart, tossing the brush over Henry's head. Henry hardly flinched, but Bill ducked his dark head before tossing Anna a sharp glare with its beady eyes. The merchant glanced towards the setting sun and nodded. "About an hour, give or take. The next challenge after finding the cave is getting in without being seen."

Henry snickered, the first instance he had shown he was even aware of us milling near the back of the cart.

"Leave that to me," Henry said as he cinched up the bag of corn, much to Bill's displeasure. The crow pecked his hand, causing Henry to recoil. "Good try Bill. But you failed to nick my flesh. See," He held his hand up for the crow to see, "not a drop. Oh, don't give me that look. You've had enough corn for now. Can't have you getting fat on me now, right? That would be a _caw_tastrophe!"

Henry threw his head back, howling with laughter. Anna glared at him, a long frown resting on her lips, and her arms folded over her chest.

"Let's make this the fourth time in the past two days I've been tempted to kill him."

"Not a fan of puns?" I asked.

"Not a fan of bad puns," Anna countered. "And he's clearly trying to make them terrible."

"Then why haven't you tried?" Severa asked.

"Why haven't you?" Anna nodded when Severa pursed her lips, not even needing to wait to hear her answer. "There's a reason why the Grimleal are feared in Plegia."

A long scowl settled over Severa's face. She was upset, and I knew why. But I couldn't blame Anna for thinking Severa was ignorant of how dangerous the Grimleal were. It's not like Anna knew we were time travelers escaping a hell-hole of a future that the Grimleal helped cause.

_Wow, that sounds strange every time._

Anna glanced over at Henry one more time and shook her head. "I don't wanna know how he's going to get us into their hideout unseen, and I'm not going to ask. So instead, I'll ask this: who's infiltrating?"

"Me," I answered, surprising Severa and earning a nod from Anna. "You said it yourself last night; I'm a trained thief. I should be able to slip in easily enough. I don't know what Morteza and Nader want to do."

"I'll be going in with you, of course. Nader will help Anna guard the cart," Morteza commented. "It would be most unwise for you to venture into a nest of vipers alone."

My lips thinned. I'm not sure how I feel about Morteza and Nader venturing into the cave alongside me, mostly because I did not know how stealthy they actually were. Although, they were both scouts for General Mustafa. They had to be able to move quickly and quietly through the desert to have such a role. So it might not be such a bad thing to have them by my side.

A hand tapped my shoulder, and I turned to Severa.

"I'm going too."

Morteza raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Miss Severa?"

"Morteza-" I began, only to be cut off by Severa's fury.

"It's a good idea, Plegian," Severa snarled, getting close to Morteza and glaring defiantly at him. "Sam and I have done stuff like this before, so don't you start saying I can't go because I may not know what I'm doing," She turned to me, scowling. "I'll be in the cart with the crows and their insane owner."

She marched away, leaving Morteza puzzled and me exasperated. Sometimes I wondered what was going through Severa's head. I was pretty sure Morteza did not mean anything bad by questioning if it would be a good idea for her to come along. Then again, I don't think I'm the best at reading people despite Anna's best efforts to teach me how.

_That's probably why I can't ever get a read on Severa beyond her usual grumpiness._

"Is she normally like that?" Morteza asked, drawing me from my thoughts.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Like what?"

"As abrasive as a sandstorm?"

I snorted at that, then shrugged. "You get used to it, I guess. Cold meal before going in?"

Morteza nodded, and we both went to the cart to get some food. Cold hardtack and jerky would have to hold us over for a while. We had bandit mages to assassinate, and I doubt there would be time for a break.

* * *

No moon shone on the Northern Wastes tonight. For some reason, the usually bright and numerous stars looked a bit dull and faded to my eye. Maybe my eyesight was going bad due to all the blows to the head I've received in recent months? Or maybe there was something in the air? Perhaps everything seemed darker due to the deed that I had to do tonight?

It did not sink in until we located the one cave in the mountains that had a faint, flickering orange light within it. The goal of this mission really hit me as I belly crawled through the sand; alongside Morteza, Severa, and Henry, towards the cave.

I had to assassinate at least one mage.

The warm sand shifted beneath me, some grains slipping beneath my shirt through my loose collar and sleeves. Sand grinding against my bare skin was hardly a comfortable sensation, but I ignored it. Better to deal with that discomfort than to be caught out in the open by the bandits and the mages in their company.

We slipped to the side of the cave, and the goal of this mission gripped me by the throat, making it hard to breathe. Killing people wasn't something I enjoyed. I have only done it twice before; once at Arena Ferox in the heat of terror and battle, the other time when escaping the very cave we were beside. Both times I did my best to block out the horror of what I did, but now I couldn't block it out. I had to face the fact that I would be forced to kill more living people tonight.

As I pressed my back to the side of the cave, drawing in a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down; my conscience continued to bombard me. There is a major difference between killing people and killing Risen. The biggest reason being that Risen were already dead. They were no longer people, only monsters. Regardless of the heinous actions these bandits committed, they were still living, breathing humans. Such a thing was a precious commodity in the future.

I shook my head. Those thoughts needed to leave my brain. Now was not the time to grow a conscience and have a philosophical debate on the horrors of war. I doubt Henry would enjoy such a thing anyway. My heart must turn to stone, and my morals needed to shut up.

These bandits were killers, cutthroats, bastards of the highest order. I woke up in one of their cages. I woke up nearly a victim of whatever foul plans they had for me. I have seen what they do and how they treat people.

They needed to die.

I glanced behind me, spotting Morteza and Severa in the faint firelight coming from the cave's mouth. Morteza had a look of determination on his face. His usually cheerful eyes were hardened and focused, the look of a warrior. Severa meanwhile, had a look that I couldn't quite identify. She appeared anxious, almost ill. Perhaps she, like me, has realized what is involved in this mission and is having second thoughts about it. Whatever it was, she noticed me glance at her and immediately did her best to appear focused.

Finally, in the rear of our small line, stood Henry; as chillingly cheerful as ever. That broad grin never wavered, even as we neared the beginning of our mission. For a moment, I wondered how he could be so happy about what we were about to do. Then I remembered that this is Henry: the man who giggled at me being poisoned, who laughed about turning me into his next cadaver to study, and who fantasized about how bloody his death might be.

_He's loving every second of this._

I knew Henry had no problem with slaughtering the bandits within the cave system. The question now was what was his plan to get us inside without being seen? Even with the skilled fighters alongside me, there was no way we could take on an entire bandit hideout on our own. It was a miracle that Anna, Morteza, Nader, and I escaped at all in the first place. Now that all of the bandits were within the hideout, as evidenced by the soft echo of numerous voices I heard, we needed to be even more careful.

_Hopefully whatever Henry has cooked up does the trick._

I shifted back a couple of steps and craned my head so that I made eye contact with Henry.

"Alright, Henry," I gestured to the cave. "Get us in there."

Light snickers passed by me, making me shiver. Henry inched closer to the cave mouth and drew his spellbook; the gold paint on the binding barely visible in the dark night. He peeked around the corner of the cave opening, then jerked his head back, eyes alight with excitement.

Soft murmurs slipped from his lips, and the temperature around me plummeted. My breath misted in front of my mouth. Goosebumps formed on my flesh. A moaning wind rolled in from the dunes behind us, carrying an even greater chill with it. I swore I saw shadows moving along the wind. Shadows with eyes that glimmered with vile magic as they floated towards the cave mouth.

As Henry continued to mutter, a faint, glowing set of intricate lines and circles formed around his spellbook and beneath him. A pang of concern went through me as I saw some blood dribbling from his right nostril, red flecks plopping down onto the open pages of his spellbook. Despite that, his muttering went unabated, and the moan on the wind grew louder; reminding way too much of the moan that signaled the arrival of Risen.

The shadowy wind filtered into the cave, unaffected by the flickering firelight within. I heard voices starting to wonder why the temperature had dropped so suddenly. Those voices were cut off by harsh snaps, a strangled scream, and a ragged gasp from Henry. As Henry exhaled, the firelight within the cave went out.

I didn't wait for Henry to tell us we could move in. I tapped Severa and Morteza, and we swept around the winded dark mage, entering the cave in silence.

I took the lead into the cave, my kukri drawn in my right hand. As quietly as I could, I crept along the edges of the first cavern. The only sounds I heard were the low moan of the desert wind and Henry's labored breathing as he moved to catch up to us.

I paused for a moment so Henry could catch his breath. As we waited, our forms clinging to the cave wall, the faint scent of smoke from the remains of a small campfire filtered into my nose. Following that smell was a putrid stench I instantly recognized- dead bodies.

There were four of them, lying in the darkness at the center of the first cavern. I saw glossy, inky stains around them, and assumed that was a result of Henry's spell.

Blood was, surprisingly, not something I was very used to. Sure, I have seen plenty of my own blood at this point, but seeing my own blood never bothered me much. Even when I lived back in Wisconsin, whenever I got a cut, I'd be more worried about the pain than how much it bled. However, seeing someone else's blood, even in movies or pictures back home, always made me feel sick. During the battles I participated in, in the future, I never had time to pay attention to the carnage around me. Now that I had no other choice but to notice the stains on the sandy floor; I couldn't help but feel sick.

A hand tapped my shoulder, nearly making me jump out of my skin.

"Samwise," Morteza whispered, "Are you alright?"

I glanced back at the others. Morteza looked ready to go, Henry wasn't breathing as hard, and Severa's eyes were glued to the shadow covered bodies slumped around the dead fire pit. Henry must have noticed how rigid Severa was because he craned his neck to look her in the eye.

"Like my handiwork?" He asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Severa's breath hitched, and she returned from whatever place she had been trapped in within her mind. Her throat bobbed in the darkness before she glanced over to me and frowned.

"Why are we stopping?"

I rolled my eyes. "Making sure you're all good to go. Once we're in, the only way out will probably be by fighting."

"That's why I'm here, since you're hopeless at that," Severa hissed.

I wanted to retort but decided against it. The last thing I needed to worry about was arguing with Severa. There were bandits to elude, and enemy mages to kill.

Without another word I moved forward, creeping along until I reached the opening to the tunnel system within this vast cave network. I paused by that tunnel, straining my hearing to make sure there was no one inside of it. When I heard nothing, I moved in, feet gliding over a floor that turned from soft sand to hard stone.

Firelight flickered to my left, from an offshoot off the main tunnel. Muffled voices came from the offshoot as I paused near it. It was living quarters of some sort, and we weren't going to get by them without alerting the bandits inside. The question now was how many bandits were inside, and could we silence them before they sounded any alarms?

Part of me wanted to rely on Henry and whatever terrifying magic he used before, but he looked spent. His face was paler than normal, and there was still a small bead of blood dripping from his nose. The last thing I need to worry about right now was carrying him while sneaking through this cave system.

My eyes landed on Morteza next, and I spotted a small knife strapped to his left hip. I nodded at him, and he slipped to the front. With one last deep breath, I tapped his shoulder, and we swept into the room.

Morteza's knife shot across the room, burrowing into the skull of a wiry bandit sitting at the far end of the room, holding a pair of playing cards. As the cards fluttered from his limp grasp, the three bandits playing cards with him gawked; too surprised to react immediately.

That was their undoing. Morteza pounced on the closest bandit to the door, his sword slashing through his throat with ease. Severa swept by me next, bashing the pommel of her blade against the temple of the next bandit. While that bandit fell, I moved to the final one, swallowed whatever reservations I had about ending his life, and slit his throat before he could utter an alarmed cry.

The final bandit's body flopped forward, and a pool of blood built up beneath her. That's when my stomach lurched and I staggered back a step, bumping into the lone living bandit who was unconscious at Severa's feet.

"Careful!" Severa hissed.

Her face blanched when Morteza knelt down and drew his knife along the unconscious bandit's throat. He then gave Severa a hard glance.

"Samwise wouldn't have to be careful if you finished the job."

Severa balked. "W-well- I-"

Henry snickered. "More blood equals fewer problems for us. Keep that in mind."

A heavy sigh left Morteza's lips. Meanwhile, I was focused on the bandit lying dead in front of me.

"I would've said it better, but Henry is right," Morteza tapped my shoulder, jerking my attention away from the body and to him. "No mages in here, unfortunately."

I swallowed hard. "Y-yeah, but that doesn't mean they aren't nearby."

Voices filtered through the tunnels, drawing closer to our location. Adrenaline shot through my veins as the voices rapidly approached. Judging by the echoing footsteps, there were more than two nearing us, but only two spoke.

I moved fast, pressing my back against the cave wall beside the room's entrance. The others did the same. As we hid, I strained my hearing, trying to make out what the voices were saying.

"-telling you I detected magic, boss," A nasally, anxious voice said.

My ears perked, and I noticed Henry's grinning mask evaporate, replaced by an unnerving seriousness that was uncharacteristic for the insane dark mage.

"We'll find out once we see the sentry post. If they're alive, then you're just being paranoid," A gruffer voice replied.

"And if I'm right, then we have a dangerous problem on our hands," The first voice replied.

The footsteps paused, as did the voices, right beside the room entry. I held my breath. My grip on my kukri tightened as I tensed my body, ready for a fight.

"Are you saying you and Saara aren't capable of repelling mages sent to hunt us, Taaha?" The gruff voice growled, his tone threatening.

The first voice belonging to the one named Taaha gulped. "I'm saying that we need to find out if these are simple mages acting as bounty hunters or worse, Bakar."

A tense silence followed, and I crept a little closer to the doorway, so I could catch a glimpse of our foes.

They were right beside the door, four of them. Two of the bandits appeared to be grunts, wearing armor made of the bones of some beast that I did not recognize, and bone helmets over their heads. Standing in front of them was a small, young man with tanned skin, a bare chin, and a bald head. He wore thin, black robes and held an old spellbook in the crook of his right arm.

_That must be Taaha._

Staring down at him was a hulk of a man with long black hair tied up into a tight braid behind his head. Instead of bone armor, he sported iron pauldrons atop his bare torso and bits of iron that were bound by bandoliers over his enormous chest. A large battle-ax was strapped to his back, and it shimmered in the flickering firelight. A thick beard covered his chin and neck. Overall, he was a fierce-looking foe.

_Bakar._

"What do you mean by worse?" Bakar growled. "Do you really think the crown would send the Grimleal?"

"You didn't think they would send the army, but they did."

"They sent a small company of soldiers that are incapable of finding us," Bakar replied. "Dumb bastards must be led by someone equally stupid."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we have avoided the King's-"

"The King can kiss the sandiest part of my ass," Bakar replied with a haughty laugh. A laugh that caused Morteza to scowl. "Come, let's see if your paranoia is false or not."

Taaha sniffed, clutched his spellbook, and followed Bakar down the tunnel towards the cave entrance.

I kept my breath held until the echo of their footsteps faded away. As soon as it was gone, I turned to Morteza and Henry.

"Two mages," I whispered.

"And we know where one is. Now we need to find the other," Morteza said while Henry gave me a nod.

That will be a tall order. It would not be long before those bandits, Taaha, and Bakar discovered Henry's handiwork at the cave's entrance. Our limited time to conduct this assassination mission has shrunk considerably, not to mention our only route of escape may be cut off by one of the mages.

We would have to stall the bandit leader and the first mage at the cave mouth so that they couldn't raise the alarm for everyone else.

"Stealth is blown," I muttered. "And it won't take the entire gang long to search these caves," I turned to Severa. "We're gonna have to fight our way out after all," My gaze then moved to Morteza and Henry. "You two go take care of the four that just passed us. If you kill the mage, then get out."

"And you two?" Morteza asked me, his eyes flicking to Severa.

"We'll find the other mage and take them out," I muttered, causing Severa's eyes to widen. "Cave system shouldn't be too much bigger. I recognize this tunnel from when we escaped not long ago, so we should be near the final room or two."

"Which means more bandits for you two to deal with," Morteza protested.

I nodded to Severa. "That's what I got her for, right? Now get going, or those four are going to raise the alarm."

"Hold on!" Henry hissed. He reached into his robes and withdrew a vial filled with an inky liquid. He slapped the vial into my hand and gave me a grin. "Have fun."

Henry grasped Morteza's arm and dragged him out of the room, leaving me and Severa to do our end of the mission. Once they rushed down the tunnel, I moved to leave the room, only to notice Severa hesitate to do the same.

"Sev?"

Her red eyes darted down at the bodies behind us, then up to me.

"You alright?" I asked.

The mask of concern she had evaporated, replaced by her usually disgruntled demeanor.

"O-of course I'm fine," She snarled, shoving by me. "Gawds, you act like I haven't done this before."

"Not saying you haven't," I muttered, not getting a reply.

We moved swiftly through the halls until we reached a cavern I did not recognize from my escape with Morteza, Nader, and Anna. Unfortunately for Severa and I, this also appeared to be the main gathering place for the bandit gang. At the center of the cavern was a roaring bonfire with tendrils of smoke swirling up into a hole in the ceiling of the cave. Faint starlight filtered into the cave from the hole in the ceiling. Rising with the smoke was the general din of chatter that caused both Severa and I to grind to a halt then dash behind a large stalagmite near the entrance.

I waited a moment to see if the enemy detected us. When I heard no sounds of alarm or any threatening movements I peaked around the stalagmite. My eyes widened when I saw a group of twenty bandits sitting around a fire, enjoying a meal. Twenty enemies were way too much for us to handle on our own. Hell, I had a hard time fighting one person.

The next thing I saw made my stomach flip. Jammed on top of a pair of stalagmites near the fire were a pair of heads: Goz and Mez. Apparently, allowing me, Morteza, Nader, and Anna to escape was a capital offense in the bandit world.

Finally, sitting off to the side, within the shadow of Goz and Mez's heads, was a woman wearing a thin purple robe that didn't leave much to the imagination, as well as many bands of gold, silver, and bone on her arms. An animal skull rested atop her head, hiding her eyes from view. A staff with a purple crystal at the head rested in her lap, and she read from a book resting on top of the staff.

"The second mage," Severa whispered to me, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her sword.

"Yeah," My eyes scanned the space between us and the mage. No cover, no way to get close without drawing attention from the other bandits. A shit situation if there ever was one. The only way to get to the mage would be to fight through all the other bandits. Or, that would be the conventional thought process, but I was taught by very unconventional people.

_How would Gaius and Anna handle this?_

"Sev," I whispered, "You stay hidden. I'm going to create a distraction that will hopefully draw the bandits towards me. While they're focused on me, you go for the kill."

Severa paled. "You-you're what? Samwise, you do realize if you do that there's a big chance you'll die, right?"

I shrugged. "So it's a normal situation."

"I-" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Gawds, I hate that you're right."

A small smirk passed over my face. "Yeah, well… let's hope I'm right about what I'm going to try next. Take advantage of the opening when you see it."

"Samwise, how will I know the opening when I see it-"

I moved before she could finish talking, mostly because if I didn't commit to my insane idea now I would second-guess myself. Hell, I'm second-guessing myself even as I move into the firelight, kukri sheathed and an iron ball lodged in my throat. However, this was the only way to get the mage away from the other bandits. What better way to distract a bunch of criminals than to pretend to be one looking to join up?

_I have a feeling you'd be proud of my stupidity, Gaius._

"Hello there!" I called, keeping my hands relaxed at my sides.

All chatter stopped at the fire, and the bandits turned to look at me. Some appeared alarmed, a few looked stunned, and a pair of them appeared very suspicious. As they gawked at me, I glanced at the bandit mage and saw her shadowy eyes glaring at me from behind her skull crown. She had not moved.

_Stay calm, Sam._

"Uh," I gestured at the bonfire and the bandits around it, even as their gawking turned to glares. "Lovely place you have here. Especially this little- er- circle thing you have going on. Very kumbaya of all you."

No response, and no movement. Definitely not off to the start I was hoping for.

"Right, so um, you're probably wondering who I am and how I got here. Well, the name's not important but you can simply call me Baggins. As for the how, that is important but the answer is entirely dependent on how this conversation goes. As for where I come from, well, I'm from nowhere; between here and there. I'm sure you're familiar with the place considering you're all having a circle jerk in the wasteland right now."

"Who the hell are you?" One bandit growled, rising to his feet and drawing a rather crude looking club with bits of iron hammered into the head of it.

I gave the bandit an incredulous look. "Didn't I just answer that? I'm Baggins, master er- thief and infiltrator, burglar supreme." I bowed low at the waist. "At your ser… vice."

The other bandits were now on their feet, drawing their weapons, and glaring at me with murderous intent. The mage had not moved from her seat, but I could see her hands wrapped around that staff in her lap.

I cleared my throat and refused to step back. I could not show weakness, and I could not reveal Severa's location. She was my ace in the hole, my escape plan, the brawn to my idiocy, and if things went south (as they appeared to be doing) then she's my only chance out of my self-created mess.

As the bandits drew closer, their jaws clenched and their weapons draw, I took a hesitant step back and involuntarily glanced over to the stalagmite Severa was hiding-

No one was there. Severa was gone.

_How did she do that?_

"You've got three seconds to tell us how you found us, Baggins," The bandit at the front of the pack, a repulsive-looking individual with his teeth half rotted out behind scarred lips, a hairless brow, and barrel-shaped belly, demanded while brandishing an ax at me.

I raised a hand, and they stopped advancing.

"First of all, it would be impossible for me to explain how I found all of you with only three seconds," I began, my eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of Severa. I thought I spotted one shadow move along the far wall, and hoped that was her. "Second of all… second of all… er, you may want to stay back because not only am I a thief, but I am also a mage extraordinaire!"

E_ven Gaius would smack me for being stupid now._

The lead bandit let out a mocking laugh, "Oh really, someone like you is a mage? Saara, can you believe the bullshit coming from the stripling's lips?"

The mage named Saara said nothing. Instead, she carefully scrutinized me from where she sat. Her black lips pressed into a thin line, then parted into a vile grin that made me shiver.

"Bring him to me," She said, her voice a hoarse croak in the stale, cave air.

_Crap!_

"Now hold on," I replied, raising both of my hands. "Let's not be has-"

The lead bandit didn't let me finish. His right fist slammed against my jaw, causing my entire world to spin as I twirled and flopped to the ground. Stars danced in my eyes, and I tasted iron on my tongue. I spat into the ground, letting bloody spittle dangle from my lips even as a rough hand grabbed the back of my shirt and dragged me towards Saara.

My eyes were wide as I fruitlessly smacked the bandit's hand, trying desperately to shake his grip on me. I kicked against the floor, doing everything I could to get a foothold so I could fend off the bandit dragging me towards the mage. All I managed to do was kick some pebbles out from beneath my feet as my boots scraped against the rocky ground.

With one harsh heave, the bandit tossed me in front of Saara. A wheeze left my bloody lips as I winced from the impact of hitting the ground. Quickly, I shook the fog from my head, saw the stars in my eyes fade away, and looked up at Saara.

She was older than I thought, with faint wrinkles in her… graying skin?

_That's definitely not natural._

Not to mention the pigment of her lips, coal-black, was strange. It definitely did not look like any makeup. In fact, her entire physical appearance reminded me way too much of the Aversa, Grima's Witch. The biggest differences between the two were the skull crown, the black instead of glowing eyes, and the dragon brooch on her right breast.

My eyes widened, glued to the brooch, and my heart froze in my chest.

_Anna's brooch._

Saara's black lips parted, revealing teeth and gums that looked like they were stained by ink. Normally, such a grin would've made me tremble in my boots, but I was too focused on the ruby and gold brooch shimmering in the firelight to give a damn. Instead of fear, anger rose up in me. I met the Mage's grin with a furious glare.

Her head tilted to the side and she snickered at me.

"You're no mage. If you were, you would've never allowed my men to touch you," She croaked. She set her book to the side and rose to her feet, staff grasped in her right hand. "So, Baggins, who are you?"

My glare shifted from the brooch to her face, then to the shadows behind Saara's head. In those shadows, I spotted a pair of red eyes in the firelight.

A snarl passed over my lips, and I reached into my pocket, grasping the vial Henry gave me. "The last thing you'll see."

As fast as I could, I smashed the vial against the ground. A titanic boom erupted in my ears and a gust of powerful wind whipped around me, carrying uncountable moans and cries with it. The ground bubbled beneath me, and the rock started to turn into sand. The bandits all around me let out alarmed cries as they began to sink into the sand. Before my limbs could be swallowed by the earth, I moved; my kukri flashing in my grasp.

I swung it as hard as I could, even as Saara raised her staff to block the blow. However, Saara was too slow. My kukri slashed through her bone crown and bit into the right side of her face, getting stuck in her eye socket and cheekbone. She uttered a shriek, one that was silenced by a sword piercing through her back and out her chest.

Severa rose up from behind Saara. In one fluid motion, she yanked her blade free from the woman's chest, then slashed it through her neck, freeing my kukri from her skull. Before the now dead Saara could fall to the group, I grasped the broach on her robes and ripped it free.

"That's mine," I growled, before letting her body fall to the ground.

Severa dashed past me, parrying an ax from one of the bandits that had recovered from the initial shock of Henry's concoction turning the floor to sand. I pocketed Anna's broach, spun around, and slashed my kukri through the bowels of the same bandit struggling with Severa.

"Nice opening," Severa growled, as she readied to combat the other bandits, who had now regathered their wits near their bonfire.

"You can make fun of me later. We need to run."

I grabbed Severa by the wrist and dashed to the exit. The bandits tried to cut us off, but we managed to slip into the tunnels leading out of the cave system before they could.

The chase was on, and I could hear the sound of bowstrings groaning behind us.

_Should've known they'd have archers._

Unfortunately, there was no room for me and Severa to dodge the arrows, so all we could do was run. A pair of arrows zipped by my head, skipping against the rock walls of the tunnel. Another arrow scraped by my right shoulder before nearly slamming into Severa's right leg.

Both of us barrelled into the main cavern in the cave system, our pace not faltering even as we spotted Henry sitting on the smoking corpse of Taaha. Morteza was pacing by the corpse of Bakar, near the cave mouth. When they saw us, Morteza initially gave us a broad grin. A grin that ran away from his face when he saw the large group of bandits chasing after us.

"Go!" I cried. "Go!"

Henry cackled as he jumped to his feet and shot a fireball at the bandits, forcing them to dive to the side while giving Severa and I more breathing room. Harsh, rapid breaths shot in and out of my lungs as I willed my legs to continue sprinting.

All four of us rushed out into the desert, right into a party of ten bandits returning from whatever place they were pillaging. The ten bandits gawked at us for a moment, before moving to attack us, cutting off our route of escape. Morteza and Henry skidded to a stop in front of me, causing Severa and I to turn around and face the bandits chasing us.

"Henry," I began, "I don't suppose you have any more nasty tricks up your sleeve?"

"I do, but I'd have a pretty pathetic death if I tried more than a basic fireball right now," Henry replied with a nervous giggle.

_Well, shit._

My grip tightened on my kukri and I waited for the bandits to strike. It's not like Severa and I haven't faced overwhelming odds like this before, but those odds involved Risen. Dumb shambling corpses that were dangerous in large numbers, but could be taken down by someone as inexperienced as me in a one on one battle. Fighting actual people required more technique and skill since they were thinking of how to kill me just as much as I was thinking of how to kill them.

Severa grit her teeth beside me, both of her hands holding her sword out in front of her. "Archers, Sam."

I spotted three bandit archers to the rear of the group of bandits that chased us out of the caves. All three had arrows trained on me and Severa. If I was busy fighting off a bandit, then I wouldn't exactly have the room to dodge an arrow.

"Morteza," I said, "Any ideas?"

"Fight like hell and pray Anna and Nader are on their way," Morteza answered.

_Go down in a blaze of glory then? _I drew in a deep breath, swallowing the fear I felt. _Sounds like a solid plan._

The first few bandits surged towards us. Heat smacked into my skin from a fire spell bursting to life in Henry's free hand. Steel hammered against steel as Severa and Morteza engaged the swiftest bandits, fighting hard to take them out quickly. I swept around Severa, snapping my kukri out and slashing into the ribs of Severa's opponent. Before the bandit could utter a pain-filled cry, Severa cut him down.

Something hissed past my ear, and Severa hissed. An arrow grazed her right cheek and burrowed into the sand behind her. A thin stream of blood dripped down her pale cheek, but she hardly paid it any mind as she moved to the next enemy.

As she engaged the next bandit, one of the enemy bandits armed with a club charged at me. He gave the club a mighty swing, which I ducked beneath before jamming my kukri as deep into his gut as I could.

Instead of falling to the ground from the strike, the bandit howled, wrapped his meaty arms around me, picked me up, and tossed me into Severa. Both of us fell into a tangled mess of limbs and curses.

I froze as I felt steel tap my throat. Severa likewise froze when she spotted the bandits standing over us, their blades ready to pierce us.

_Come on Anna, where are you?_

I heard a faint pounding drawing near. Horse hooves hammered against the sand causing a broad smile crossed my lips.

Anna's cart barreled into the bandits pinning me and Severa down. As the horse and cart ran over two of the bandits, Nader leaped off of the back of the cart and used his sword to slash through the torsos of two more bandits.

I surged to my feet, helped Severa to her feet, then urged her towards the cart. Only for both of us to be cut off by arrows peppering the ground in front of us, just barely missing us again. By the time we recovered, Anna's cart was around the bandits again, not slowing down one bit as she urged her horse to trample any bandit that dared get in her way.

But there were still too many, and now the archers were starting to focus on trying to pick off Anna. If they managed to do that, then the cart will stop breaking apart the thick groups of bandits, allowing them to overwhelm us with numbers again. Henry's spells were growing less frequent, which told me he was tiring out. Nader, Morteza, Severa, and I could only block, dodge, and slash so much before we became as exhausted as Henry.

_Not good. _I thought, ducking beneath a wild slash from, stepping around him, and kicking his knee out of place with my left foot. As he crumpled to the ground, Severa stabbed down, shoving her blade through his skull. Her face grimaced and some color left her features as some of the bandit's blood splattered up, coating her knuckles.

Morteza uttered a pain-filled cry, and I saw an arrow sticking out of his right leg.

_Damn it, Anna needs to slow down before-_

Something strange was drawing near. I barely noticed it out of the corner of my eye. It looked like a pair of large moles were burrowing through the sand, making a beeline for us as more blood-soaked the sand. I wasn't given much more time to study the approaching anomaly, because a bandit wielding a rusted sword rushed me, picking me up off my feet and body slamming me to the ground.

All of the air shot out of my lungs, making my eyes bug from my skull as I struggled to catch my breath. A hand wrapped around my throat, stopping any air from coming back into my lungs. The bandit raised his sword, ready to end my life.

Sand erupted around us, and a set of fangs snatched the bandit off of me. The bandit uttered a terrified scream as the biggest spider I had ever seen in my life threw him through the air towards another spider that burst to the surface from beneath the desert sand. When the other spider caught him, a gigantic stinger ran jammed into his back, paralyzing him.

"Dune spiders!" Anna screamed as she drove her cart around us.

I stared up at the spiders, petrified. All of my worst nightmares have just come true. Give me Risen to fight any day of the week instead of these monsters. These giant spiders with stingers, fangs, and hisses that made my hair stand on end caused more fear to well up inside of me than any monster Grima had conjured so far.

"Samwise," Severa grasped me by my shoulders and lifted me to my feet. "Let's go- oh gawds!"

A third spider burst to the surface, nearly lifting Severa off of her feet. Thankfully, Severa managed to jump back before slashing her sword across the spider's body. The spider uttered a guttural sound that sounded like a huge dog growling. That was the noise that made every flight instinct go off inside of me.

I grabbed Severa by the arm and ran straight for Anna's cart. Nader was already helping Morteza into the cart while Henry laughed with glee as he watched the spiders attack the panicking bandits. Once Nader and Morteza were in the cart, Morteza looked at us wide-eyed. I heard him shout something, but didn't make out what he said.

A loud hiss sounded in my ear, making all of my hair stand on end.

"To the side!" Severa cried, tackling me out of the way of a dune spider's deadly fangs.

When the spider missed us, it changed targets and scurried towards Anna's cart. Both Morteza and Nader uttered fear-filled screams, while Henry howled with insane laughter. The insane mage fired a dark spell that erupted into a ball of purple fire around the spider. The spider screamed for a moment, then went silent.

As that spider died, Severa and I scrambled back to our feet and raced to Anna's cart. We reached the cart without another spider or bandit stopping us. Anna spurred her horse forward as we clambered inside, both Nader and Henry grasping us and hauling us in.

Anna did not slow the cart down as we raced away from the bandit hideout. I glanced back and saw what remained of the bandits retreating back into the caves, chased inside the dune spiders. A fourth spider burst from the ground near the caves, and it began to wrap any wounded bandit's in its silk.

_Thank God for Anna and her cart._

I wiped sweat from my face and looked over at Severa, my lips curling into a slight smile. "That went well."

Severa gave me an incredulous look. I waited for her to snark at me, to snap at me, to berate me even. Instead, she snorted and bowed her head, quiet laughs leaving her lips.

"Somehow it did," She admitted.

Henry cackled behind us, and Bill the Crow cawed on his shoulder.

"Good thing those spiders showed up, or else this mission would've been a _cawtastrophe_!"

"Lucky us," Morteza winced, hand massaged the area around the arrow impaled in his leg. "Let's get back fast, please."

"Already on it!" Anna called back from her perch at the front of the cart. "I'd rather not tangle with those spiders again."

"Same," I gasped, sucking in deep breaths of the warm desert air before falling back and letting my head rest against the deck of Anna's cart.

Somehow, not only did we manage to assassinate the bandit mages, we may have helped a group of dune spiders wipe out the bandits entirely. As I lay there, contemplating that, and wondering how General Mustafa would react to the news, Severa nudged me with her boot.

"Hm?" I eloquently asked.

"Guess your nickname still works," She smirked.

A crooked smile crossed my lips.

"Somehow, yeah," Gaius's training helped too, but ridiculous luck pulled through again. Although, I did wonder how long that would hold out for. I suppose I shouldn't be worrying about it. As the old saying goes: never look a gift horse in the mouth. "I guess it does."

**And chapter! This was a very fun chapter to write. Lots of fun action that isn't as intense as what we saw in the future timeline, but still pulse pounding. A nice little change of pace as far as action sequences go, and it was a blast. I'm also thoroughly enjoying myself when it comes to worldbuilding Plegia in this fic, and I hope I'm doing a good job at it. Anyways, Sam and friends were succesful in their mission, and I'm sure that'll only cause Mustafa to like him more. We shall see where that takes us now, won't we?**

**Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

**Also, come join the Fanfiction Treehouse Discord server! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a**

**And, come check out the _Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast!_ Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We talk about fanfiction, writing, Fire Emblem, and whatever other nonsense comes to mind at the time. You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud. Hope to see you all there!**


	45. In the Heart of the Enemy

Rigged from the Start

Chapter 42

In the Heart of the Enemy

It is always a relief to see some sort of civilization in the middle of nowhere. In my old life, nothing gave me more relief than spotting a truck stop just off the highway when on a long road trip; mostly because my bladder hated me back then. Call it a strange anxiety, but being in the middle of nowhere with no-one around was unsettling for me. That was something I always thought was strange given my more introverted tendencies back in Wisconsin.

That strange anxiety, like back home, ebbed away when Anna announced we were approaching Mustafa's camp. Although, the reason for my anxieties was different now. Unlike a long road trip from the American heartland, my bladder felt fine and I wasn't craving beef jerky to an unusual degree. Instead, I was looking forward to a drink of water from a water-skin, a soft mat to lie down on in a rickety tent, and the company of other people which made sure to ward off any unsavory characters or dangerous predators.

_My old self would not recognize me. _I thought, my lips cracking into a small smile as the cart came to a stop at the edge of the camp. _Not just because of the hair or beard either._

Once the cart came to a stop, I helped Nader get Morteza out of the cart. During the ride back from the bandit hideout, Nader and Henry worked tirelessly to ensure that Morteza's arrow wound did not grow too severe. Amazingly, they both did a solid job. Henry altered a hex that caused heart attacks to instead clot the arrow wound once Nader removed the arrow. Nader, meanwhile, worked with potions we brought along to keep Morteza stable. As a result, when we helped Morteza out of the cart, he was able to hobble to the healers, who whisked him away to the medical tent.

That left the rest of us to meet with General Mustafa and Captain Raad. The two men stood at the edge of the camp, waiting for our arrival. As I approached them, with Severa and Nader flanking me and Henry trailing behind(Anna was busy securing her cart to the nearby quartermaster's tent); Captain Raad inclined his chin at me, and General Mustafa stood motionless.

I let out a loud exhale and gave General Mustafa a nod. "Don't think those bandits will be much trouble anymore."

General Mustafa's eyes narrowed, while Captain Raad scoffed. "You mean to say you helped kill all of the bandits in that hideout?"

"Well… no, the uh- really big spiders did most of the work."

"Dune Spiders?" Captain Raad asked, eyes widening.

Henry snickered behind me. "Four of them. But, if you want to confirm the bloody deaths of those bandits, you should be clear to do so. Those mages are certainly dead, right Samwise?"

"Hm?" I replied, my brain stuck on the spiders for some reason. "Oh, yeah. You and Morteza killed one. Severa and I killed the other."

"Two mages then?" Raad questioned further. "Are you certain there weren't more?"

I shrugged. "Didn't exactly have the time to look around since we had to fight our way out against spiders and bandits."

Raad opened his mouth to retort, but General Mustafa raised a hand silencing him. Mustafa's heavy gaze lingered on me for a moment, before roving over Severa, Nader, Henry, and eventually Anna, who was sauntering over to us.

"You all did well. When we return to Doluna, I'll make sure the crown compensates you," he turned to Captain Raad. "Take some men to the location of the bandits. Wipe out any survivors from the Dune Spiders. When that is done, rendezvous with us on the road to Doluna."

Captain Raad drew in a deep breath. "Yes, General."

The Captain left to follow Mustafa's orders, leaving Mustafa alone with me and the others. I noticed Mustafa's gaze follow Captain Raad for a moment before he let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Still learning…" Mustafa cleared his throat. "Come, all of you. A warm meal should be a fair reward for your work, for now," Mustafa looked around at the soldiers that gathered around us. "That goes for all of you as well. A job well done. We will march for Doluna come sundown!"

A loud cheer erupted from the soldiers, and I did not miss the smiles and nods of approval from the Plegians as I moved towards the dining tent. Henry chose to retreat to his tent instead of joining us for dinner. Perhaps that was a good thing though; he could be extremely unsettling and one strange comment about blood would ruin my appetite.

As I neared the dining tent I paused in my steps, noticing Anna pass by me, but not Severa. I raised an eyebrow and looked around, thinking maybe she slipped past me without me noticing. When I didn't see her among the crowd of celebrating soldiers, I turned around and saw her red hair disappear into our tent across the way.

Why she would retreat now confused me, and I decided to investigate. As inconspicuously as I could manage, I moved through the sandy roads within the army camp towards our tent and paused at the entrance. As I was about to step inside, I heard quiet sniffles and sobs from within, causing me to freeze where I stood.

_Why would she be crying?_

I had to think carefully about what to do next. If walking in on Anna crying was any lesson, then this could go one of many different ways, most of them not so good for me. That being said, I could not leave Severa like this, not without at least offering to help her out. So, with that in mind, I drew in a deep breath and knocked on the tent pole in front of me. Instantly, the sobbing stopped, but the sniffles continued.

"You okay in there, Severa?" I asked, keeping my voice down to not draw the attention of any passerby heading for the dining tent.

A harsh sniff came from the tent, and I heard Severa shuffling around inside.

"I-I'm fine. Gawds, I just came here to have a moment of p-privacy."

I raised an eyebrow. I could be dense at times, I knew that about myself; but, after all the training I had with Anna and Gaius, I liked to think I became decent at picking out obvious lies. From the quiver in Severa's tone and the harsh sniffs coming from the tent, I knew she wasn't just taking a moment to catch her breath. Something was very wrong, and a part of me worried that she might've been injured during the mission and didn't say anything. Why would she do that? I don't know. Maybe she doesn't trust the Plegian healers? It wouldn't be that far fetched of her to do, given her current wariness of our hosts.

Then again, I never saw her get hurt. So something else was going on, and unless she barked at me to get the hell out of the tent, then I wasn't going to let her go through this alone.

Carefully, I poked my head into the tent and spotted her sitting on her bedroll, knees tucked close to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs. In the fading daylight, I spotted some tears glistening on her cheeks. Tears she tried to wipe away when she spotted me peeking at her through the tent door.

"D-didn't you hear me?" Severa tried to snarl, only for her voice to croak instead. "I-I'm fine."

I drew in a deep breath and stepped into the tent. "Last I checked, tears are not a sign of being fine."

Severa shot me a glare. One that was quickly eroded by fresh tears bubbling in her eyes. She fought them hard, even going so far as to swipe at her eyes with her hands, but they still ran down her cheeks.

"These could be happy tears, you know."

I snorted and took a seat in the sand across from her. "You don't look like you're smiling."

"You don't have to smile to be happy!" She shot back, before sniffling hard as another tear ran down her cheek. All the while, I gave her a disbelieving look. After several moments of staring at each other like that, she let out a frustrated huff and shook her head. "Alright, fine. Fine! I'm sad, alright! Is that what you wanted to hear?"

I furrowed my brow. "Why on earth would you think I'd want you to be sad?"

"I don't know!" Severa cried, now not even fighting the tears, "I just- gawds dammit, I don't even know what to do."

She hung her head, shoulders shuddering as quiet sobs wracked her. Meanwhile, I remained rooted where I sat, unsure of what to do. During that time, I noticed something that had escaped my attention when I first entered the tent.

Severa's sword was unsheathed, and sat beside her, dried blood still caking the edges of it and staining the guard. Her hands shook around her shins. Every few seconds, I noticed her eyes dart to the sword, causing fresh tears to erupt from her watery eyes. While she cried, I said nothing.

A few moments later, Severa sniffed hard and wiped at her right eye with her right hand.

"Gawds this is… this is embarrassing," She grumbled, choking a little bit as she spoke. "Why are you even still here? Can't you see I don't want to talk?"

I shrugged, "Just because you don't want to talk doesn't mean I can't be here to help out somehow, I guess."

Severa raised her eyes and met mine. "You- you guess, huh? What kind of response is that?"

I cringed and rubbed the back of my neck. "The only one I could think of, honestly. I'm not the best at this sort of thing. Hell, when Anna was crying, I cooked her food instead of doing, well, this. And the other time I walked in on her crying, I accidentally got her even more wasted. I doubt either of those were actually helpful."

Severa snorted. "Probably not," Her chin fell to her knees, and she took in a deep, shaky breath. "Samwise?"

"Yeah?"

Severa's tear-filled eyes bored holes into me. "How do you manage to kill people so easily?"

Her question hit me like a bullet to the chest. It left my mouth feeling dry, my hands a little clammy, and my stomach twisted into a tight knot. My appetite left me, and an unsettling realization gnawed its way into my brain.

I did manage to kill those bandits rather easily, didn't I? As soon as I convinced myself to do it, I didn't flinch. Was I not happy with the act? Yes. But was I breaking down like Severa? Was I beating myself up for doing something that I would've found beyond heinous in my old life? No.

"Um," I pursed my lips, thinking hard for a moment, "It wasn't easy. I- uh, really had to talk myself into it."

Severa's eyes narrowed at me. "Talk yourself into it? What do you mean?"

I cringed as every fiber of my being desperately wanted to change the subject. Despite that, I chose to give her an answer.

I drew in a deep breath as I tried to compose myself. "I convinced myself that I had to kill the bandits. That they had to die, and if I did not kill them, then they would've killed me, you, Anna, and a lot of other people who don't deserve to die."

Severa replied with a heavy silence that sat on me with all the weight guilt could provide. Again, she shook her head and gave me an incredulous look.

"You still make it sound so easy," She muttered. "Then again you weren't in the fight as long in the future, so I guess you could have an easier time detaching from other humans."

That caused a small spark of offense to light within me. "Excuse me?"

Severa didn't even flinch as I gave her a hard look. "Every single human being in the future was needed, Samwise. Every single one of them was on the same side. Sure, did Grima have bastards that followed him? Yeah. But, they were so few and far between that I never encountered one of them. I only heard stories. Lucina, me, all of us were trained to save any human from Grima and the Risen. So being ordered to kill other people now, and actually going through with it, feels so wrong."

"That's because it is," I mumbled.

"Then how do you make it sound so easy?" Severa shot back.

A brief flash of anger hit me. "I don't know!" I barked, blinking in surprise at my own raised voice. As quickly as the anger hit me, I banished it with a few deep breaths.

"I don't know," I breathed again, running a hand over my eyes. A headache was starting to form, which I knew was going to make this evening even more wonderful. "Look, Severa; I don't like it. At all. Period. I haven't even done much of it until tonight."

"Did you kill in your old world?" She asked, throwing me off guard.

"Wh-what? No!" I replied, more stunned than upset by her question. "I was a terrible salesman back home. Definitely not a soldier or anything like that. War, battles, all that stuff were the subjects of the evening news, stories, and documentaries."

Severa gave me a puzzled look, and I rolled my eyes, mostly due to my response to her question rather than at her response to my answer.

"Forgot you have no idea what two out of those three things are. I'll explain that-"

"Later? Yeah, you've said that before," Severa grumbled, her voice less shaky now as she began to calm down a little bit. "So… how can you do it if you know it's wrong? How do you still go through with it?"

I drew in a deep breath. "I'm still figuring that out myself. Um… the first time it happened was a kill or be killed moment; back at Arena Ferox," Severa nodded in understanding. "The second was much the same. Kill or be killed, when escaping the very bandit lair we just destroyed. This time though... this time was definitely different, and I knew it. I guess what made me able to do it was realizing that if I did not then people close to me could be hurt or killed. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened."

Severa gave me a surprised look. "You consider me close to you?"

I shrugged. "Well yeah. You're pretty much the only friend I've got in this dust bowl. Besides, I promised Anna and Donnel that I would make sure you all survived, and I'll be damned if I break that promise. If that means I have to get my hands dirty like what happened with those bandits, then so be it. In the end, hopefully, those terrible actions lead to a better world."

Severa slowly nodded. "I think I can understand that. It's like Anna and Gaius always told you: complete the mission at all costs."

I nodded. "Yeah… at all costs."

I puffed out a long breath, then felt my stomach grumble. As my stomach growled, I could hear Severa's rumble as well, causing her cheeks to turn red.

"C'mon," I rose with a small laugh and gestured to the tent door. "Let's get some food before the soldiers take all the good cuts."

Severa rolled her eyes, then rose to her feet. "Hopefully it's not goat again."

"It wasn't _that_ bad," I countered as we moved to the door.

"Speak for yourself. That has to be some of the strangest meat I've ever eaten, bear included."

"Not a fan of bear?"

Severa blinked. "Are you kidding? That stuff is delicious."

I chuckled. Her and Morgan were definitely related because I didn't know any other Shepherds that enjoyed bear as much as Morgan did.

My hand peeled the tent door out of Severa's way, allowing her to march out with all the confidence she usually exuded. Not a hint of her previous, somber state showed in her posture or stride, causing a slight hint of admiration in me. These kids really did bounce back quickly when they needed to. And Severa seemed to bounce back faster than most. That was probably due to that abrasive, need to look strong, personality, but I saw no reason in being worried about that right now.

"So Doluna?" Severa muttered as we drew near the dining tent, the sounds of soldiers eating, laughing, hollering, and even a few tavern songs, filling our ears. Through that din, I swore I heard someone curse at Anna for beating them at some sort of game involving money.

"Yeah, that's going to be interesting."

"We're going then?" Severa continued, anxiety clear in her voice.

I nodded. "Not like we got anywhere else to go right now. Besides, I plan on getting paid for the killing."

_Hopefully, some hot food will put that terrible thought from my mind for a while._

* * *

Unlike our little assassination party, Mustafa and his army moved when the sun set. So I already regarded him as far more intelligent than I could be since moving through the desert at night never occurred to me. Fortunately for me, winter was drawing near, which made traveling through the desert during the day not as taxing as it would have been only a couple of months ago. Once again, my absurd luck paid dividends. Right now though, I'm grateful to be traveling with people who knew the desert better than me.

_And with this many soldiers maybe those dune spiders will stay away. _I thought with a shiver as Severa and I marched alongside Anna's cart, near the rear of the Plegian column.

Why am I marching instead of riding in Anna's cart? I'm not sure myself. Anna never offered to let me ride, and I never asked. For some reason, I got the sense that it would be rude to demand a ride while the other soldiers in the company walked. Only injured soldiers rode the camels since the beasts were mainly used to haul the supplies for the company.

Henry was sequestered in his carriage, along with Mustafa and Raad. The mad mage specifically asked for them to ride with him, and as far as I am aware, refusing a Grimleal is something even a General will not do. I was simply grateful I did not have to interact with Henry anymore. While there could have been a much worse Grimleal to join Mustafa's company, Henry was still Grimleal, and he unnerved me.

_Nearly being dissected by the guy in the future really soured my opinion on him._

As we marched, I glanced to my right and noticed Severa starting to falter in her steps. The poor girl looked exhausted. She didn't get much rest during the lead up to the march, and even less in the first night or two. We didn't say much to each other either. I was lost in my thoughts, and Severa was more focused on keeping a wary eye on our companions.

Severa gasped next to me and I heard her stumble a couple of steps, causing me to reach out and steady her.

"You good?" I asked, chuckling a little even as she jerked her arm free from my hand.

"I'm fine," She growled, stumbling forward a couple of steps like a weary drunkard.

Before I could reply, I heard a huff come from Anna's cart.

"Get her inside before she falls asleep in the sand," Anna sighed.

"I'm not-" Severa's protest was interrupted by a loud yawn, "I'm-"

I didn't let her finish her sentence as I hooked one of her arms over my shoulders and helped her towards the back of Anna's cart. Anna had already moved from the driver's seat to the back to help haul her in. Severa fought against us for a moment before relenting as another long yawn left her lips. As she laid her head down in the cart, I nodded my thanks to Anna and began to move back to my spot in the march.

"Get to the seat next to me, Samwise," Anna sighed before I could leave her sight. "No sense in having you walk all the way to Doluna. You aren't some grunt, and you look like you can barely stand anyways."

_I do? _I rolled my shoulders, feeling the tired, tight muscles flex and stretch. _Suppose she's not wrong._

Unlike Severa, I did not resist the offer to join Anna on her cart. Anna slowed the cart down enough for me to clamber up into the passenger seat beside her. Once I was seated, I took a deep breath and winced as my legs made it apparent how sore and stiff they were.

"Not getting much rest lately?" Anna asked as she held the reins loose in her hands.

"Apparently not," I mumbled, massaging my legs as I spoke.

Anna nodded. "Well, I'm not going to pry on why. I've seen you thrash in your sleep enough to know that you won't want to talk about it."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're watching me sleep."

"Don't get any ideas," Anna countered with a roll of her eyes. "We all camp in the same area, and you don't sleep quietly. Then again, some of the older soldiers in this group don't either."

"Why's that?" I asked dumbly, even though I could have guessed the answer.

Anna gave me a puzzled look. "Never heard of the Ylissean crusades?"

I pursed my lips. "Might have, but give me the short of it."

Anna snorted. "Good man. In short… no, that's too much. To summarize: the Ylissean Exalt decided to try and commit genocide on Plegia for reasons unknown to everyone except his own fucked up mind. I wasn't very old when it happened, but I do remember my mother and older sister avoiding this area like the plague when it occurred. From what I've gathered of current Plegian military stuff, they've still got veterans of that nasty business in their ranks. That's probably why nobody has bothered you about your thrashing in the night. They get it."

My gaze wandered from her towards the column of soldiers around and in front of us. Few of them looked particularly old. I did spot one or two with some grey flecks in their beards or hair, but for the most part, not many of these soldiers looked older than me. Of course, if I followed that train of thought, then that realization had some disturbing implications.

"Child soldiers?" I wondered out loud.

Anna shrugged beside me. "If your nation is desperate enough."

I grimaced. There was a distinct irony to this revelation. In the future; Severa, Lucina, all of the kids were child soldiers fighting against this world's equivalent of a Lovecraftian horror. I didn't regard any of them with wariness or suspicion like I did these Plegian soldiers. Maybe that is because I knew the future kids were the heroes of this story and the Plegians were not. But actually being among the "enemy", even for a short period of time, forced a bit of a new perspective for me.

Regardless of their allegiances, the Plegians in the future were victims of Grima as well. Judging by how few of them there were, they received some of the harshest treatment by the Fell Dragon. Recalling that only reaffirmed the need for this mission to the past to succeed. If we failed, if I failed to help Lucina and the others, then everything I saw would happen again, perhaps even worse than before.

My hand absently drew out the gold and ruby dragon brooch Anna gave me before her death in the future. As it spun between my fingers, the glint of gold caught Anna's eye.

"Oh!" She chirped, causing the brooch to stop spinning in my fingers. "Now that is a fine-looking piece. Mind if I see it?"

I hesitated because there was a part of me that did not want to let this brooch out of my sight again. It was all I had left of my mentor and friend, and I did not want to lose it. However, this is the same Anna I knew, just younger. She wouldn't steal it. Last I checked, she would try to swindle people, but she was not a thief.

So, I placed the brooch in Anna's hand. Anna smiled and held it up to her eyes, peering at the gold as it shimmered in the pale Plegian moonlight.

"Don't think I've ever seen something like this before," She mumbled, her fingers running along the ruby-encrusted dragon. "Where did you get it?"

My throat bobbed, and I hoped she didn't notice. "A friend gave it to me before she died."

Realization dawned in Anna's eyes. To my surprise, she didn't hold onto the brooch for much longer. She held it out to me, and I took it with a gentle hand.

"No point in trying to buy that off you then," Anna said. "You'd never part with it. Unless there is a price I'm unaware of?"

I snorted and pocketed the brooch. "Not in this case."

"Damn," Anna kicked her feet up on the railing in front of us. "I liked it too. Maybe I'll find something similar," a mischievous gleam entered her eyes and she put a finger to her chin. "Or, maybe I'll convince you to hand it over someday."

"Keep dreaming."

"I'm just as charming in dreams as I am in reality." Anna retorted with a smirk. She adjusted in her seat, folding one leg over the other as her feet stayed up on the railing. For a moment, she glanced back into the cart. "Your companion is sound asleep."

"She's a friend," I commented, making Anna arch an eyebrow. "Not just a companion."

"Last I checked, friends don't try to kill their friends," Anna muttered, making me frown. "Then again, I've seen some strange stuff in my travels. That wouldn't be too far out there, especially for a thief. People of your occupation tend to keep less than savory company."

"Severa's not bad," I replied with a wave of my hand. "That scuffle a few days ago was no big deal. I forgave her, and I'm forgetting about it."

"Not sure if forgetting about it is the right approach, Samwise," Anna replied. "Whatever caused her to snap like that; whether it was a bad word from you or some sickness in the head for her, needs to be addressed and taken care of. One bad wheel on the cart can leave you stranded and left for dead."

My lips thinned. "Not exactly sure how to address it."

Anna shrugged. "That's for you to figure out, but I'd do it sooner rather than later."

A heavy breath left my lips. I have been meaning to speak with Severa about what was bothering her, but I never had the opportunity. Even if I did broach the subject with her, I had a feeling Severa would shut me down with harsh words rather than actually talk about the problem. I couldn't blame her for that either. It's not easy talking about stuff that bothers you, let alone confronting the problem.

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied, then decided to change the subject. "How do you know so much about this sort of stuff?"

Anna gave me a wry smirk. "Not a bad changeup, Samwise. Changing the subject by disguising the change as digging into it more. I should give you some applause for that, but I won't, because I noticed it."

I chuckled at that and found myself a tad surprised when Anna laughed along with me before continuing.

"I'll go along with it. If you really want to know how I know so much about people, look at what I do for a living. You think I'd get rich as a merchant if I didn't understand people?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I've run into some merchants who were bad at that before."

_Hell, I was one of those bad merchants._

"And the one thing those merchants have in common is that they can almost never close a deal."

_Okay, ouch, that one hit close to home._

"I, on the other hand, am one of the Secret Sellers for a reason. Us Annas have a reputation, and we aim to keep it. So you can bet I learned as much as I could about people before leaving mother's nest," A snort left Anna's lips. "Knowing people so well is why I like traveling alone, if I'm honest."

"You'd rather a good book than a companion?"

Anna blinked. "Yes, actually. Got any recommendations? I plan on picking up a novel or two when we get to Doluna."

I shook my head. "Not any you'd know, or any they'd have, unfortunately."

"That's too bad," Anna replied as she leaned back in her seat, relaxing while she drove. "How about you, enjoy reading?"

I gave her a slight grin. "You ask a lot of questions for someone who doesn't like people."

Anna rolled her eyes, but she didn't seem offended. If anything, she appeared very amused. "Just because I don't like being around people, doesn't mean I don't like people."

I furrowed my brow, confused. "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what that means."

"No, I like people. They pay me money, therefore I like them," Anna replied, causing me to snort and shake my head. "It's the ones that don't pay up but somehow expect me to chat with them that I dislike."

I gave Anna a curious look. "So why are you bothering with me?"

"Hm?" Anna hummed, putting a finger to her chin as she thought for a moment. "Well, you did help get me out of that cell. And while I do think we're already even since I hauled your sorry ass back to these fine people," She gestured to the soldiers around us, "before you could die, I… huh, guess you got me there a little bit."

"Perhaps you still feel like you owe me?"

"I know what value is Samwise Baggins, and I certainly don't feel that way. But you're free to keep dreaming," Anna replied with a smirk.

I let out a quiet laugh again before resting my head back against the canvass behind me. I wasn't sleepy, but letting my head rest against something felt good given how sore my body felt from marching.

A small smile formed on my lips as the cart continued to rumble through the sand. This felt like old times, somehow. Me, Anna, and one or two Shepherds in the back; traveling to a dangerous place for us to work on a mission that had a minuscule chance of succeeding. Except in this instance, Anna had no idea what was actually going on and I did not plan on letting her know about it. Until Anna actually joined the Shepherds, I could not take that chance.

Also, the city we're traveling to isn't rubble this time. That'll be an interesting change.

"So," I breathed, "ever been to Doluna?"

Anna nodded. "Plenty of times. It's the heart of Plegia after all, and the heart can be very rich."

"What's it like?"

Anna glanced at me. "Well, since you're with the army, it won't be so bad."

"And if I break away from the army?"

Anna chuckled and shook her head.

"What?" I asked.

Anna glanced at me. "You and the kid wouldn't last a day."

I grimaced as Anna returned her focus to the desert and the soldiers marching in front of us. Severa and I wouldn't last a day? Considering how the last time went when we were in Doluna, that was not a reassuring assessment.

* * *

We reached the "mountains" outside of Doluna during the twilight of the following day. Of course, I knew these sheer cliffs and sandstone peaks were not true mountains. Severa knew this as well. The pass the column marched through, in reality, was probably a gap between the massive vertebrae of the Fell Dragon's bones.

My eyes gazed up to the peaks of the "cliffs" all around us, not in awe, but in silent horror, as I rode on Anna's cart. I did not know what Severa was doing right now, but I imagined she was quietly freaking out in the back of the cart. Anna was right when she said something was awry right now with Severa, and it needed to be addressed. Still, traveling among a company of Plegian soldiers was not the best time to do such a thing.

Anna, meanwhile, hardly paid the cliffs any thought. I couldn't blame her for that. She must've traveled along this road so many times in her life already that, to her, the bones covered by tons of sand were nothing more than mountains. If there were bones beneath them, then she would have dismissed them as just that: bones. Nothing more, and utterly harmless. At least, that's how I felt the Anna I knew would react.

After a steady rise to the top of the pass, the sandy world parted, revealing a sprawling city sitting atop a massive oasis in the middle of the vast dunes. The shadows of night obscured most of Doluna's details, but I did see plenty of torches flickering within narrow city streets, atop several rings of walls, and at a large structure near Grima's mammoth skull which had to be the royal palace.

_Everything looks so different when it is not ruins._

The march remained silent until we reached the northern gates of the city. They weren't very impressive, all things considered. It was a squat structure within the walls, embedded within the stone like a barely visible piece of ebony ore. They were closed. In front of the gates stood four guards wearing simple leather armor stained gray with hints of gold along the fringes of their tunics beneath the armor. All the guards wore a chain mail mask over their faces and simple leather helmets atop their heads. Long spears rested in their grips, and I spotted short swords strapped to their hips as well. As the column approached, they stiffened and waited for General Mustafa, Captain Raad, and Henry to approach.

The gates remained closed as the trio chatted with the gate guards. I couldn't make out what they were saying, so I leaned towards Anna.

"What do you suppose they're chatting about?"

Anna shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Personally, I don't care. I'm just going to find a decent inn to stay at for the night, then make sure the General sticks to his promise of gold come morning," She glanced at me. "What about you?"

I shook my head. "Don't exactly have gold to stay at an inn, and I don't have your way with words to convince an innkeeper otherwise."

Anna snorted out a laugh as her grip tightened on the reins to her cart. "What makes you think I'm going to swindle my way into a bed."

"Reputation," I replied without hesitation, causing Anna to chuckle to herself.

"Apparently it does precede me. Good to know."

The gates groaned open, and the four guards stepped to the side, saluting the General, the Captain, and bowing to Henry as they did so. Anna snapped the reins to her cart, and we entered the heart of Plegia.

The cart jostled behind me, and Severa poked her head out. Her eyes widened as she beheld a whole Doluna for the first time. My reaction wasn't as obvious, but I was still dumbstruck by the city.

The Awakening game always gave me the impression that Plegia was a sand swamped, sun blazed, hell hole akin to other fictional places like Tatooine. Perhaps that was merely the game makers playing up the differences between Ylisse and Plegia. That's how it looked to me now, at least.

The main artery through Doluna was a broad, sandblasted, stone road that felt as smooth as asphalt with a few potholes. In the fading daylight and oncoming moonlight, some groups of everyday people milled around still open shops. I could hear an anvil or two ringing in the distance, probably a street or two over. Merchants hawking their wares before closing up for the evening were like chirping birds; unintelligible noise. A few children with scrapes, bruises, dirt scuffed clothes, and broad smiles on their faces rushed past Mustafa and Captain Raad before the column could begin to march through the city. Just inside the gates, to my left, I could hear a loud song emanating from a tavern.

The city felt alive… and happy. A far cry from the game's portrayal. Quite an ironic state of things given they live in the shadow of a death god's corpse.

I didn't have much more time to admire the city before the column marched again; this time flanked by some of the city guards, who emerged from a tower along the walls not too far from the gate. Severa flashed me a concerned look.

"It's alright," I whispered to her.

"Does she not like armed guards?" Anna asked, making both Severa and I stiffen as the cart trundled towards the second ring of Doluna. "Or does she not like this city?"

"N-Never been here before, so how can I not like it?" Severa stammered.

Anna shook her head. "If you're going to lie, commit to it. It'll actually be believable then. Though, I don't blame you for not liking Doluna. Things may seem nice right now, but there is a nasty underbelly to this city," Her eyes drifted towards a pair of mountains that ran along the city's western edge. I couldn't see much of what she was looking at, but I thought I spotted a large slum along the slopes of Grima's claw. "Word of advice, if you aren't going to stick with me at an inn for tonight, seek lodging from the General."

I gave Anna a grim nod, then returned my focus to the road.

We passed through a second set of black gates and entered a much more sparse area of the city. An area with large buildings, lots of dummies staked into the ground, and a higher presence of armed guards. My head was on a swivel as I looked around, puzzled, and now sharing some of Severa's concerns. Concerns that grew when the column came to a stop.

"Looks like this is it," Anna grunted. "You sure you aren't going to try and swindle your way into a bed tonight too?"

I shook my head. "Like I said, I don't have an Anna's silver tongue," With a deep breath, I hopped off of the cart. Severa followed my lead and flanked me, silent. "See you around?"

Anna gave me a small smile. "Maybe, but not likely. I already wore out my business here before I got caught by those bandits. Gonna replenish my stock, then head for Regna Ferox. Only this time, I'll be going with a caravan," She snorted and shook her head. "Learned my lesson late on that one."

A twinge of sadness pierced my heart. So soon after reuniting with Anna, she was going to leave. I wanted to argue with her but thought better of it. While she was the same Anna that I called my best friend in the future, this was not the future. This was the past, and Anna barely knew me. My word meant nothing to her, even if she has been friendly with me so far.

"Well," I held out my hand, "until next time then?"

Anna gave me a curious look, then reached out and took my head. "Sure. And, tell you what; if we do run into each other again, maybe I'll share a pint with you," An ache filled my chest. "But you're buying your own."

I let out a pained chuckle, hoping she wouldn't notice. If she did, I hoped she thought it was because I'd have to buy my own drinks.

"Sounds like a deal."

Anna nodded, gripped the reins to her cart, and left for Doluna's first ring. She still had to speak with the General about payment for her assistance, but I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing her again when she did stop by. Knowing Anna, she'd get an early start to her day tomorrow and accost the General while he's having his breakfast. As for me, I knew I was too exhausted to attempt waking up that early. So, I resigned myself to this temporary goodbye and took solace in the fact that one day I'd meet up with Anna again, hopefully on the same side of a war once more.

When the gate closed behind her, I drew in a deep breath and turned to Severa. "C'mon, let's work out a place to stay."

Severa blinked. "H-here?"

"Where else?" I shrugged.

She grumbled the entire walk towards Mustafa, who was busy discussing some last-minute logistics with Captain Raad and a few other officers that had emerged from a massive fortress along the walls of Doluna's second ring. I had to blink a few times as I wondered how I missed the enormous, four-story structure that melded with walls around me. That's when it occurred to me that this second ring wasn't another wall; the entire wall was a fortress.

_How the hell do the Shepherds get into this place to try and save Emmeryn!?_

Before I could ponder that question further, I refocused my mind on the task at hand: getting lodging. General Mustafa was our best ticket to a soft bed and a warm meal the next morning, so I was going to try and punch that ticket.

Mustafa noticed me approaching before I could even say a word. He nodded his head, and the other officers that joined him outside of the fortress glanced over at me. One of them seemed familiar. He was a younger man, about the same age as Raad, but nowhere near as noble-looking. An air of arrogance hung heavy around him as he ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. Wisps of a goatee adorned his sharp chin, and even sharper eyes flicked back and forth between me and Severa as we approached.

"These are the mercenaries your messengers informed us about, Mustafa?" The officer said, a look of disbelief passing over his sneering features. "Grima, one's a girl and the other's a stripling."

Mustafa frowned and folded his massive arms. "Careful Vasto. The girl has a temper, and the stripling certainly knows how to slit your throat."

Henry cackled beside Mustafa, causing the sneer on Vasto's thin lips to waver. That mad laugh was all the confirmation the younger officer needed to know that Mustafa was not joking. So, with a sniff, he shrugged and turned away from us.

"Fine, fine. They helped you. I'll at least give them credit for that."

"As you should, Captain," Mustafa grunted before turning to me. "I assume you're looking for lodging?"

I cringed. "Yeah, well, seeing as how we've got no money we can't exactly pay for a bed tonight."

Mustafa nodded. "I'm sure something can be arranged, correct Captain?"

Vasto shrank a little bit beneath Mustafa's dark gaze. "Of course, General. It wouldn't be the first time Doluna has housed mercenaries, as part of their payment of course."

"That's up to the crown," Mustafa replied but uttering a heavy sigh. "But I'm sure it'll be taken into account."

"Personally, don't mind," I said, drawing Vasto's attention. "A warm bed is better than a couple of pieces of gold, in my opinion."

Vasto's gaze lingered on me a moment, as if he was studying Severa and I.

"Strange mercenaries are a new one though," He muttered before puffing out an annoyed breath. "There is a room available for the both of you. Go inside and inform the sergeant that I sent you."

I gave General Mustafa, Captain Raad, and Captain Vasto a thankful nod before motioning for Severa to follow me into the fortress.

The inside of the fortress was spartan in design. A few rugs made of wicker or bristly material that I could not place ran from the door to a set of double doors across a large common room. The common room did not have any fireplace, although there was a small, stone-ringed pit off to the side. Instead of a warm hearth, the room had multiple indents in the stone walls that were covered by wooden slats.

A few Plegian soldiers milled around the common room. Some sat on cushions beside low sitting tables, playing cards in their grasp and some copper coins glinting between them. Others mingled near the indents (which I assumed were windows) and chattered. A few of the soldiers glanced at me and Severa with curiosity, but no one moved to address us. Not until a small woman wearing a tight, leather tunic and boots approached us.

Lines creased along the corners of the woman's mouth, and crows feet crinkled at the edges of her eyes as she paused in front of me and Severa. Her arms folded, and her jaw worked back and forth. Steel eyes looked both of us up and down, evaluating us.

"New recruits?" She asked, hard eyes unblinking as she stared up at me and Severa.

I cleared my throat. "Mercenaries. We assisted General Mustafa, and Captain- er- Vasto-"

"Ah, you be the ones the messengers spoke of, eh?" The woman leaned over and spat a red substance into an urn near the door. "General and Captain are giving ye permission to stay here for the night?"

I nodded.

The woman nodded. "'Right, this way." Her steel eyes flicked towards a group of Plegian soldiers gawking at us from their table. "Back to your gambling. Ain't nothing new in the barracks."

"The redhead's a new one," I heard one of them grumble before returning their attention to the card game.

Severa gulped beside me, and I had to suppress a frown. I wasn't upset with her. She had a right to be nervous after an off-hand comment like that soldier's. Apparently, she was drawing attention just with her looks.

_People like Severa must not be common around here._

The short woman led us through the double doors on the far wall from the entrance, down a torchlit corridor, up a flight of stairs, and towards a lone room on the second floor of the fortress. When she reached the door, she grasped the doorknob and gave the door a harsh shove. The door refused to budge on her first push, but after a sharp curse, the woman managed to get the door to budge.

"There," she wiped one of the few strands of gray hair that adorned her midnight head from her face. "This be your two's room. You need something, let me know. Name's Zaira, though I'm simply the Sergeant to the young ones. Messenger will come for you two in the morning, I'm sure."

Without another word, Sergeant Zaira strode away. I briefly watched the gruff woman leave, before I felt Severa grasp my wrist and drag me into the room. She slammed the door shut behind us. Heavy breaths left Severa's lips as the slam of the door echoed in the room.

"Severa are you-"

She shot past me towards a candelabra on a nearby table. I heard the sound of flint and steel scraping in the darkness, followed by the warm glow of candles illuminating a sparsely furnished room with two beds on opposite walls and a lone window between them.

Once the candles were lit, Severa sank down into one of two wicker chains beside a beat-up table. Her face fell to her hands and she let out a long groan.

"If we actually do end up needing anything you're going out to get it," She muttered.

My lips thinned, but I nodded. After how some of those soldiers leered at her, I could understand her trepidation for leaving this room. To help her feel a bit more secure, I turned around and latched the door, causing Severa to raise her head in silent thanks.

Wordlessly, I sank down into the wicker chair opposite of Severa. While not the most comfortable seat, it could have used a nice cushion, it was more comfortable than the bench on Anna's cart.

"That's better," I mumbled, letting my head fall back against the back of the chair.

Severa snorted across from me. "Better?"

My half-lidded eyes looked at her. "I'm well aware of where we are."

"Yeah, I know," Severa muttered. "How long do you think we'll be here?"

I pursed my lips. "Not sure. But that's not something for you to worry about tonight. You need to rest."

"I rested plenty on the march here," Severa frowned.

I gave her a disbelieving look, reminding her that I was aware of her stubborn tendency to push herself too hard on marches. If it wasn't for Anna letting Severa into the back of her cart she would've been barely able to stand right now, and Severa knew it. So, with a begrudging huff, Severa rose to her feet, a slight wince betraying how sore she felt.

Once Severa flopped into her bed, and started softly breathing, I let out a relaxed sigh and folded my hands in my lap. While I felt as exhausted as Severa, her question was bouncing through my mind.

How long would we be here in Doluna? This was far from an ideal place to be for us. While others considered me lucky, I was afraid to test my luck too much. For all I knew, there would be someone in this fortress, or out in the city, who would immediately peg us as not from Valm but from Ylisse instead. Hell, Severa's appearance alone was drawing curious eyes. From that standpoint, the sooner Severa and I got out of Doluna, the better.

But to what end? What would we do in the meantime? If my knowledge of the game's events was correct, of which I was beginning to have my doubts thanks to Morgan's death, the other future Shepherds will not be arriving for some time. The one exception to that rule was Laurent, but who knows where he is right now. If I recalled correctly, his arrival was even sooner than mine and Severa's.

_And if there are others in similar situations, then it is virtually impossible to find them._

A weary breath left my lips and I massaged my eyes. How the hell were we going to find anyone when we're a year too early? No amount of knowledge from the game would help in this situation. Severa and I were adrift. Until Lucina arrives a year from now, it was going to stay that way. Amidst all that was the ever-present fact that we had a mission to accomplish. Grima needed to be defeated, and I doubt Severa would be content to sit and wait while he gains power in this land.

_This land… _My eyes widened as I watched the small flames on the candelabra dance. _Grima rises in Plegia. _My right hand ran along my whisker covered chin. _What if we can make that difficult for him to do?_

I thought about it for a moment and was immediately tempted to toss the idea altogether. Like it or not, Grima would try to rise again in Plegia. When he did, only the Exalted Falchion could do anything about it, and that was a weapon Severa and I could not get near, let alone wield. I got the feeling that only someone of the Exalted bloodline could handle the power that weapon is capable of producing anyway. So what could someone as inconsequential in the grand scheme of things as I do?

Yet, despite wanting to banish the idea to the wastebasket of my mind, it lingered. It gnawed on my thoughts, worming its way through my brain like a virus. Once it entered my mind, I couldn't shake it. Instead, all I could do was consider the possibilities.

Severa and I were effectively on the inside of the Plegian military. Not only had we gained a possible friend in General Mustafa, who was a major player on his own, but a member of the Grimleal likes us. While I would have never called being an object of Henry's amusement a good thing; in this scenario, it played to our advantage. Those were two powerful voices in our camp. Two voices that could vouch for Severa and I, thus keeping any suspicion off of us so long as we did good work for them. It was a perfect cover. A damn fine infiltration that would've made my mentors proud.

_But it's not worth a damn thing if we leave._

This infiltration opened so many doors. So many secrets could be discovered. Hell, Severa and I could even somehow siphon information to Ylisse about the eventual Plegian invasion of their land. In the long term, this could assist us in our main mission of stopping Grima.

It was risky. Perhaps too risky. I know Anna would've thought twice about it, but Gaius… he would've dove right in.

A long yawn left my lips, and I stretched my stiff arms over my head.

_Is it worth the risk?_

I took that question with me to bed, deciding to sleep on the situation rather than make an immediate decision. After all, making major decisions without a clear mind tended to go poorly for me.

**And chapter! We've got an interesting situation now for Sam and Severa, don't we? They are within the heart of a future enemy, and things could go very well, or very bad, very fast. It's going to be fun to see where it all goes, and I'm excited to show it to you all in the future! Anyway, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!**

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